A young, naive swimming prodigy tries out for the nation’s top swim team, where he is pushed towards greatness by a militant swim coach.
Director’s Statement
Swim started off in a room with our writer, Matt, and I trying to explore a world that people would be familiar with, but probably have not explored on an emotional level. I started to think about my own personal struggles and realized that, at our core, we all want to go above and beyond and strive for something bigger than ourselves. Swimming was something that taught me that early on and it was a trait I carried with me into filmmaking. But there was always a concern that comes with that kind of drive – how far is too far? Sometimes there is no limit and you do whatever it takes. I believe all of us struggle with that concern, so I wanted the film to be a reflection of that dilemma.
A.J. is a character driven by his passion. However, he’ll soon find that it is not so easy to go after what you want without sacrificing a little of who you are. It is tough to accept a situation like that because we all want to stay true to our values, but life can be tricky. When things get heated, we learn a little more about who we are.
I wanted this film to explore that moment: finding out who we really are when our time to shine finally presents itself. The film deals a certain level of harshness, but in that, I also hope people will appreciate the effort one gives to showcase their class, it’s about confronting that challenge head on and not backing down.
I only get to tell this story one time and I made it with as much energy and suspense as I could. I know from the second the movie starts playing you will be sucked into the world of athletic swimming and all of its emotional drama.