Synopsis
Despite their age, a group of seniors take swimming lessons for the first time. The reasons for this are as varied as the students themselves. From the sailor to the housewife, everyone brings their own life story, fears and longings into the course. Together, they approach the task before them with joy and humor and prove that it is never too late to venture into the cold water.
A word from Tënk
One of the strengths of director Susanne Kim is to bring people to places they would never have come alone. This special place is not the swimming pool where these seniors practise their first strokes, but a general state of openness and insight that Kim generates with her sensitive and courageous questions and her general experimental filmic setup. Kim interweaves observations and conversations with old home movies, imaginative dream sequences and dance scenes. Imagine Swimming is an invitation - to the likeable protagonists and the audience as well - to reflect on life paths and decisions, never forgetting how important it is not to lose courage. The courage to jump into the deep end and the courage to dream. Or, as the protagonist Monika puts it: “Learning to swim is learning to live.”
Luc-Carolin Ziemann
Programmer, author and film instructor
