

Two years ago, Estonian Merle Liivand (33, Estonia, MSF bio here, IISA bio here) told CNN in an interview, “There is a little bit of Hollywood interest now towards what I do [in ice swimming]. I’m going to try to find a celebrity who wants to do it with me. I’m really trying to get Richard Branson to come… So, hopefully, word gets out.”
After Lady Merle Liivand was recently knighted as a Dame of The Royal Order of Constantine the Great and Saint Helen, she found a way to develop Hollywood’s interest in her.
She recently joined with Netflix star Roman Schomburg (shown below on left) and Star Wars actor Crispian Belfrage (shown below on right) to play in a historical war movie Etude of Life (shown above on right). The film will be released in 2026 and is produced in USA and Estonia with actors from Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania, England, Sweden, Finland, and the United States. The five-time Guinness World Record holder for mermaid (monofin) swimming explained, “Swimming skills, especially swimming in cold water, were the reason why I got chosen next to high-level actors like that. Producers knew my ability to make things happen in the water, and apparently, this kind of scene has not been done yet in the cinema world. Making history thanks to swimming is Important for our community as we also grow the sport of ice swimming.”


Etude of Life is set in Estonia where in the war-torn Europe of 1944, a woman sees her life fall to pieces as she is forced to choose between her treacherous husband and an enemy officer.
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“
A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.