Swim for your life (2012): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2012, Swim for your life is a notable film directed by Jón Karl Helgason.

What it’s about. The film follows the brave attempts of two men to be the first Icelander to swim the English Channel, the Mount Everest of swimmers, their failures and eventually the success of one of them. Interwoven with the story of the amazing endurance of these two men, is the history of swimming in Iceland and in particular the long and hard struggle to re-introduce the skill after it had been almost totally lost to this seafaring nation. By the 19th century it is reckoned that in the whole of Iceland no more than 6 individuals of a population of 50.000, knew how to swim. With references to the ancient Icelandic sages, we learn through staged scenes how a local hero took on and defeated the Norwegian kin in a bout of the popular Viking sport of sea wrestling and how a mother fled after her husband was viciously killed, swimming to land with her two children.

Who’s in it. Swim for your life stars Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Narrator.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Swim for your life page.