The Swimmer

<img src="https://data.ajff.org/sites/default/files/2022-01/web_embed_Laurel_JuryInCompetition_02.png" style="max-width: 20%; width: 20%; border-width: 0px; margin-left: 10px; float: right;" />A young athlete tries to reconcile his sexual identity with dreams of becoming a world champion, in this sensual, strikingly filmed drama. An upcoming talent on the Israeli swim team, Erez (Omar Perelman Striks, Jerusalem Film Festival Best Actor winner), arrives at a summer training camp run by a legendary Russian coach, hoping for a shot at the Olympics. He strikes up a friendship with a chief competitor, hoping it will blossom into something more. When the coach forbids the two from seeing each other outside of competition, Erez must decide whether to live his truth in a still intolerant world. Inspired by his travails as a gay swimmer, writer-director Adam Kalderon pits the discrimination and toxic masculinity of the hyper-competitive sports world against a private story of acceptance.