The critically acclaimed documentary AGAINST THE TIDES is now available on demand!
For open sea swimmers it’s the ultimate test; very few people have ever completed it. But, driven by her desire to set an example for her autistic son and to overcome her life long battle with ME (a.k.a. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), which forced her to spent long periods of her teenage years in a wheelchair, Beth aims to become the first person in history to swim all seven channels in one year.
Traveling to far flung corners of the world, she confronts hypothermia, sharks, jellyfish, wild weather and mind numbing fatigue, as well as her own inner demons.
But, as her dramatic journey nears its end, Beth’s yearning to conquer the open sea comes into heart rending conflict with her dreams for her son.
Director Stefan Stuckert is a British BAFTA nominated and award winning director, working in film and TV. He has series directed several of Channel 4’s hugely successful DERREN BROWN shows and also worked on Channel 4’s acclaimed comedy series PEEP SHOW.
We spoke to Stefan about the movie.
Hi Stefan. How did you get involved in the film?
The first time I met Beth, I was instinctively drawn to her story, both because of the incredible challenge she set herself to swim Oceans Seven in a year and because of her complex backstory. She’s a character full of apparent contradictions: an accomplished athlete who suffered from a crippling illness (ME-Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) in her youth, a country girl who became a Buddhist nun and an adventurer who home schools her autistic son. But I also knew that it was not an easy story to tell. There were multiple narrative layers that needed prioritising and, of course, there were many financial and logistical concerns. “What if she fails and stops half way through?” was a frequent question we heard from potential funders. “What if the weather isn’t right, or she injures herself?”.
How was it filming at sea?
From a practical perspective, filming day and night on a small boat in mid ocean came with another set of challenges. How do you capture the emotions and struggles of a long distance swimmer when, for the majority of time, she’s submerged in the water? How do you show the scale and wilderness of the ocean channels? And how do you deal with swims that can last more than 20 hours, especially with a minimal crew and a small budget?
How did the film crew manage?
I was blessed with a great team and their commitment, passion, ingenuity and hard work is there to see on the screen. However, nothing quite prepared us for the difficulties of traveling on boats engineered to go as slow as the swimmer; sea sickness was a constant companion!
What was your aim when creating the documentary?
Our aim was to create a documentary on a cinematic canvas, so sound design and music were crucial, as were drawing out the layers of Beth’s story across several time-frames. For example, for the scenes depicting Beth’s illness which took over her life when she was a teenager I wanted a clear shift change. I wanted to establish a different ‘language’ to express the feelings of isolation, helplessness and hopelessness Beth was confronted with during that time. And, so, based on Beth’s descriptions and memories, we created several specially designed ‘reconstruction’ sequences to try and convey some of the sensory experiences of living with severe ME.
How long did it take to film?
Filming for Against the Tides took well over a year, on and off, and we ended up with a large volume of rushes. But I hope we have condensed the footage into a film that captures both the epic and the intimate layers of Beth’s life, the universal story of a woman’s quest for her dreams and the human story of a mother’s love for her son.
Against the Tides can be found in the UK & Ireland on Apple iTunes, Amazon Prime,Google Play,Sky Store and Vubiquity Virgin Store.
People in the US and Canada can find it on Apple TV/itunes, Google Play, Youtube Movies, Amazon Instant Video, FandangoNOW, InDemand (Comcast and Spectrum), Vubiquity (AT & T Uverse, Verizon Fios, Charter, MediaCom and other MSOs)
Australia and New Zealand will have to wait until 8th March 2021 and can find it at Docplay.
