own your destiny

AGAINST THE TIDES is an award-winning feature-length documentary that follows marathon swimmer and world record holder Beth French, as she sets out to conquer Oceans Seven, a challenge consisting of the seven most dangerous sea-channels in the world. For extreme swimmers, it’s the ultimate test; the equivalent to the seven peaks in mountaineering. Very few people have ever completed it, but Beth aims to become the first person ever to swim all seven in one year. 

It took Beth five years to prepare for the challenge, cost her tens of thousands of pounds and involved hundreds of supporters. Driven to set an example for her autistic son and by her battle with a lifelong, debilitating illness M.E. (a.k.a. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), Beth travels across continents to far-flung corners of the world… where land meets sea. 

Once in the water, Beth confronts jellyfish, sharks, hypothermia, wild weather and mind-numbing fatigue, as well as her own inner demons. Each swim can take up to 20 hours, often through the night. Immersed in the waves, Beth is in her element: “Being in water gives me freedom... it’s where I belong’. 

With each swim Beth gets stronger and more determined but as her dramatic journey nears its end, Beth’s burning desire to conquer the open sea comes into heart-rending conflict with a mother’s dreams for her son.

AGAINST THE TIDES is a feature documentary by the BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Stefan Stuckert and had its world premiere at the prestigious International Sheffield Documentary Festival Sheffield’s (Docfest). The film was nominated for Best Documentary at both the 2019 Austin and Marbella Film Festivals and won the Filmic Prize at the Nordic Adventure Film Festival in Copenhagen. 

After an eight-month long (!) theatrical release in UK in 2019, the film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the US later this year.