The film The Estuary and the Resilience Project – winter swimming and a story about people in a changing world

My passion for many years now has been winter swimming. In 2017, together with the sports club Silesia Winter Swimming, I organized a swimming expedition to Spitsbergen. Its goal was to swim a distance of 1 English mile in polar conditions, in water temperatures below 5°C, in just swim trunks and a swimming cap. In preparation for it, I trained with friends in a relatively new sport at the time – winter swimming.

The birth of the film The Estuary

For years we competed in competitions that took place mainly in open water in the Czech Republic – in fact, that was the only place where the sport was then developed enough to hold races. Over time, we developed an adaptation to the cold and wanted to take advantage of it by swimming near beautiful glaciers. We wanted sports records, popularization of this beautiful sport and adventure. We were also aware that the Arctic was changing and the unparalleled white landscape would not wait for us indefinitely.

The sports goals of the expedition were achieved, and we were left with colorful memories. Michal Marc’s photographs appeared in the press, and finally Tomasz Wozniczka – a cinematographer and film director, interested, among other things, in making sports documentaries – came across them. We met in the fall of 2017 and the concept of working together was formed. Tomasz decided to accompany me and my friends from the club in swimming ventures with his camera. The accumulation of material took several years. The film was decided to be produced by Agata Sikora (Spirala Film) in co-production with Maja Kowalska and Witold Chominski, and the music was composed by Michal Zygmunt. The film is finished and awaiting release, expected in spring 2025.

From the beginning of our adventure with the camera, I wondered what the director wanted to tell about. Swimming in wild and cold waters has been a routine for me for years. In the beginning, there was a lot of excitement about just breaking mental barriers and athletic competition, but Thomas and I met at a time when that fire was beginning to dim. It culminated in a competition off the coast of Antarctica, after which I began to wonder what to do next.

How does winter swimming change consciousness?

I wasn’t sure what was really important to me about wilderness swimming and where years of regular practice had taken me. Was it about realizing my connection to nature? Did being in the water change my consciousness? Is water in some sense a psychological tool? Will the film point to the answers? It’s certainly difficult for me to remain objective, as it depicts my memories. The shots from unique locations can be viewed virtually without any commentary. I’m amazed that even the post-prandial pond in the center of Katowice looks magical in the eye of the camera. Or is it simply enchanted?

New Resilience Project

When the director gathered all the materials and our participation in this very long project ended, we felt that we had the energy to do something new. We started discussing potential scripts with Tomasz Wozniczka, and that’s how the idea for Resilience appeared, in which I am no longer the protagonist, but a co-creator.

Global changes and their impact on people

In many of the places we visited, we witnessed rapid changes – the shrinking of glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic, drought in the Lake Titicaca area, and bigger fires than before in Alaska. Floating in the Vistula and Oder, we have felt first-hand not only the rapid changes in the weather, but also the effects of politicians’ actions… In all these places live people who face real challenges. Many of them may have to leave the areas they have inhabited for generations. This includes residents of low atolls in the Pacific, for example, which are already being flooded in storms, and may cease to exist in a dozen years or so.

But also people living near the rivers of Central Europe and the Far North. Perhaps staying in a particular area will involve a change in lifestyle. New skills will be needed, or a recall of long-forgotten ones. Many areas of Europe and America are drying up and desertifying. The common denominator of the changes we see in different parts of the world is changes in water distribution. As it happens, the entire globe is also being shaken by political turbulence, which some are horrified by and think of as a disaster, while others perceive it as the beginning of a recovery.

One of the most interesting things we can experience on this journey is listening to people discussing their strategies for the future. This is what we would like to focus the Resilience Project on. The word means resilience, but it also means flexibility. How do people adapt and how do they prepare for an uncertain future? Do they believe that the planet’s resources are running out and that a radical reduction in consumption should be responded to? Are they preparing for the end of civilization? Is the conservative revolution a cure for modern problems? We want children and young people to be our guides to the world. After all, they are the ones who are about to take over the baton and influence the world. They will have to deal with the legacy they have received. We are very interested in their vision of the future. Theories on attribution and diagnosis are also interesting – why is it the way it is?

We are moving into the field and starting to collect material for the film, but also for articles and photo reports. We want to appear in three places. The first is French Polynesia, the second is the Far North (which may mean a return to Alaska), and the third is the Baltic Sea basin, which means working in our own backyard. Each of these areas strongly appeals to our imagination. Polynesia is, after all, a paradise, but one that depends on food supplies from overseas, where one struggles with the disappearance of coral reefs and the degradation of other ecosystems, rising sea levels, not even to mention the problems associated with the colonial legacy.

Alaska, on the other hand, is a completely different world, a land of freedom for the adapted. But will the inhabitants of the Yukon’s inaccessible shores be able to continue living their way, or will they be forced to migrate south?

The Baltic Sea catchment area is a very diverse and unique space. The estuaries of the Vistula and Oder look surprisingly different from the estuaries in the Gulf of Bothnia, and on top of that the unique Danish Straits at the confluence of the Baltic and North Seas and Friesland are actually exotic places for us. We want to travel through these spaces and listen to the people. The plan is far-reaching and complicated, but you can start by implementing simple, small modules that won’t be too financially burdensome. You can also modify the plans, taking into account what life will bring.

Swimming stage project – stage crossing from Heringsdorf to Hel

At the same time as Resilience, I’m also starting a strictly swimming project – a stage crossing from Heringsdorf to Hel along the Baltic coastline. It’s a 343-kilometer swim, sometimes with a belay and sometimes with just an inflatable buoy, in which I’ll have a change of clothes, car keys, something to eat and a small, high-quality camera. This kind of activity promotes networking, so I’m actually treating this crossing as part of the Resilience Project. The Baltic coast has been under increased anthropogenic pressure in recent years. There are plans to build new ports and expand existing ones.

Developers are starting to invest in places that were once off-limits to them. They are developing unique dunes in the name of profits or putting apartment buildings directly on the beaches. On the other hand, we are witnessing the encroachment of the sea inland, such as in the vicinity of Wolin Island, Kolobrzeg and the Tri-City.

Very interesting is the attitude of the people. For the most part, they are not interested in ecological issues, but declare that they are interested in security and raising their standard of living, if only without a long-term reflection on the fate of the planet. The climate of social discussion regarding the environmental activism of young people or the allocation of money for ecology has changed, nomen omen.

Perhaps we need new ideas or taking up long-abandoned leads? Perhaps charismatic figures who will bring more light and break the deadlock? Because it’s getting easier and easier to believe that the world is a bleak place.

If we reach remote corners of the globe, maybe there will be time for a swimming crossing? Perhaps it is possible to swim across, for example, one of the largest and most beautiful atolls in the world – Rangiroa? Or move canoe or va’a? It would be great, however, these are not the most important things. Meanwhile, everything is ahead of us!

pic. main: Michal March