A film about an inspirational Brighton woman who became the first to swim the English Channel is due to start showing in cinemas on International Women’s Day.
Vindication Swim tells the story of Mercedes Gleitze, who lived in Freshfield Road, Brighton, and who – at the age of 27 – became the first women to swim the Channel in 1927.
It was her eighth attempt and took 15 hours and 15 minutes from Cap Gris-Nez, near Calais, to Folkestone, in Kent.
Two days later, she became the victim of a hoax when another woman claimed to have swum the Channel two days later in a faster time.
The hoaxer caused enough doubt that the Channel Swimming Association refused to recognise Gleitze’s genuine achievement, spurring her to have another go – hence the title of the film.
Gleitze is played by Kirsten Callaghan, 32, from Brighton, who suffered cramp and seasickness as her scenes in the Channel were filmed without a body double or special effects.
Callaghan told The Times: “I had never heard of Mercedes Gleitze before auditioning for the role and was immediately inspired by her extraordinary achievements.
“To truly understand Mercedes, I had to explore her profound connection with the sea. After months of training in the Channel and conquering its cold and turbulent conditions, I came to fully appreciate its breathtaking beauty that Mercedes so often spoke about.”
Gleitze became a celebrity and completed further impressive feats, swimming around the Isle of Man, and from Robben Island to Cape Town and crossing the Straits of Gibraltar.
With the film reviving interest in Gleitze, a blue plaque was unveiled in 2022 at her birthplace in Freshfield Road. The mother of three died in 1981 in hospital in London.
Her story was brought to the screen by the Brighton film-maker Elliott Hasler who wrote and directed Vindication Swim.
Production started almost four and a half years ago, in August 2019, although the coronavirus pandemic restrictions tested the cast and crew’s own endurance and perseverance.
Hasler, 23, has aimed for as much authenticity as possible. He told ITV News: “Everything you see out at sea is in the English Channel. There’s no tanks, no blue screens. This is all for real.
“And Kirsten Callaghan, who plays Mercedes, is in the water doing all of her own stunts. There are no body doubles. There is no fakery at all.”
He assembled a local crew for the film and even roped in Tim Loughton, the Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, to play the Home Secretary, Sir William Joynson-Hicks.
It is Hasler’s second feature film to earn a cinema release after his debut WWII: The Long Road Home, originally known as Charlie’s Letters, which was filmed when he was still at school.
Vindication Swim is due to be released in cinemas on Friday 8 March, International Women’s Day.
So wonderful seeing mindfulness and cold water swimming on the big screen where it belongs. Hopefully inspires folk to get in the lovely water and be mindful of mindfulness.
She was the first *British* woman to swim the Channel. The first woman was American Gertrude Ederle, the year before. She was, however, the first person (man or woman) to swim the Strait of Gibraltar.
It would be wonderful if this Brighton-made film became a hit.