Driven - The Marathon Swimming Documentary - Post Production

This is the story of the most incredible sport that no one has ever heard of.

Driven, documents the experiences of three individuals as they attempted marathon swims across the Santa Barbara Channel in 2012.  “Marathon swimming” may not sound particularly glamorous.  Its just swimming a long ways right?  Wrong! Marathon swimmers rank at an elite level in the chronicles of endurance sport and human achievement.  These athletes must overcome physical and mental obstacles that are dissimilar to those in any other sport. 

Have you ever jumped into a cold lake or ocean and gotten the shivers or goose bumps?  Imagine enduring the cold for up to 10 straight hours or more! Wearing a wetsuit disqualifies a marathon swimmer.

Scared of what lies beneath the oceans depths? These guys swim through the night! Imagine beginning a 10-hour swim by plunging into pitch black water at 1 AM, offshore of islands where great white sharks are known to feed.  Mental demons abound.

Ever been tired on a run and stopped to walk or take a break?  Resting is not an option.  Touching a boat or floatation aid immediately disqualifies these swims.  Each moment spent treading water only increases the risk of hypothermia.

Add to the list - waves, sea-sickness, cross-currents, jellyfish infestations, and more and you’ve got the makings for an epic adventure story.

Our Goal and Creative Vision:

Long-distance swimming is not an activity that is inherently easy to film in a compelling manner.  For this reason, the sport has lacked the mainstream media attention that it would otherwise normally garner. Our film uses artistic cinematography and a non-linear chronology to tell this story.  Our goal is to create a truly entertaining film so that we can share this sport with the world and bring it some of the attention it deserves.  

Meet Our Swimmers:

Fiona Goh is a 13-year-old girl from Orange County, California.  Her dream is to become the youngest female in history to successfully swim across the Santa Barbara Channel.

Cherie Edborg is a single, working mother of two.  Never having competed in an endurance sport of any kind, Cherie began swimming just two years ago.

Evan Morrison is a marathon swimming veteran.  After overcoming the challenges of a hip replacement at the age of 25, Evan strives to break the speed record from Santa Cruz Island to the mainland.

Meet Our Team:

Ben Pitterle – Director / Writer /Producer

Inspired by a love of documentary films and an experience participating in a near disastrous marathon swim in 2007, Ben’s vision is to create a film that resonates with marathon swimmers and the general public alike. In his real-life, Ben is an avid ocean enthusiast and a program director for non-profit organization devoted to protecting water quality and ocean habitat. 

Brian Hall – Director of Photography/Editor/Co-producer

Brian is a freelance cinematographer and photographer. Brian's work has been featured in many projects over the last ten years including the 11-hour PBS series, Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Adventures. He has covered stories for the New York Times and Smithsonian and his photographs have appeared in many other publications. 

Marcus Baertschi/Derek Poultney - Music

Marcus is a multi-instrumentalist with over 30 years of experience playing, writing and recording music. “To me, everything is musical. The tones resonating from a car fender when it is played as percussion, noises echoing thru a subway or the wind blowing thru the trees, it all equals frequency and resonance and is the form of universal language that makes the most sense to me”. Derek Poultney is a drummer and composer with over 25 years of experience. "Music connects everything and repairs us."

Current Status:

We are currently in the final stages of filming and are about to enter the post-production phase.

What We Need:

We’ve scraped together every in-kind resource and donation from friends and family that we can muster to get us through the filming portion of this project.  To post-produce this film, however, we’re going to need some cold hard cash.  There’s no getting around it.  The money raised through this campaign will go towards expenses for post-production needs such as sound studio rental, professional coloring, music rights, insurance, DVD production, etc.

Other Ways You Can Help

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