Don’t Be Prey (@dontbeprey.film, IMDb here) is the story of Mark Sowerby (52, Australia, MSF bio here) who achieved the Oceans Seven ten years after his first channel crossing of the English Channel.
His journey now returns to Folkestone. Ten years after standing on the shores of Folkestone to begin an English Channel crossing that would change his life, Sowerby returns to the same town with a feature-length film.
His documentary Don’t Be Prey will hold its World Premiere at the Silver Screen Cinema in Folkestone today March 4th, bringing the story back to where the journey
first began.
A decade ago, Sowerby and his coach Tim Denyer (@redtopperformance) departed from Folkestone for an English Channel crossing — his first step in pursuing one of the most demanding feats in open water swimming, a journey only completed by 43 people in history: the Oceans Seven.
Their story has now come full circle.
Following the premiere, the film will embark on a two-week Q&A preview tour across the UK and Ireland, giving swimming communities and cinema audiences the chance
to experience the film ahead of its general release on March 20th. The tour will also give audiences the opportunity to hear directly from the filmmakers and the
swimmers whose journey inspired the story. Alongside the announcement, the filmmakers have released a new trailer, offering a first glimpse of the decade-long journey captured in the documentary.
Director Jeff Tseng said, “Bringing the film to Folkestone carries special meaning for the team. We are excited and honored to present the film in Folkestone. So many people in the swimming community supported us throughout this journey, and we want to celebrate the film with the open water swimming community here in the UK. When we were making the film, the team wanted to create something that felt authentic and true to the world of open water swimming.”
Their goal was achieved.
The full UK and Ireland tour schedule can be found at www.dontbeprey.film.
- Folkestone – The Silver Screen Cinema (World Premiere) at 19:00 on Wednesday, March 4th
- Kino Rye at 19:45 on Thursday, March 5th
- Brighton – Duke’s at Komedia at 17:30 on Friday, March 6th
- Totnes – Barn Cinema at 17:00 on Sunday March 8th
- Christchurch – The Regent at 19:30 on Monday, March 9th
- Southampton – Harbour Lights Picturehouse at 19:50 on Tuesday, March 10th
- Redruth – Regal Cinema at 19:30 on Wednesday, March 11th
- Seaton – Gateway Theatre at 13:00 on Thursday, March 12th
- Plymouth – Plymouth Arts Cinema at 18:00 on Thursday, March 12th
- Newquay – Lighthouse Cinema at 19:30 on Friday, March 13th
- Clevedon – Curzon at 13:30 on Saturday, March 14th
- Stirling – MacRobert Arts Centre at 17:00 on Sunday, March 15th
- Edinburgh – Cameo Picturehouse at 17:45 on Monday March 16th
- Newcastle – Tyneside Cinema at 18:00 on Tuesday, March 17th
- London – Everyman Stratford International at 19:00 on Thursday, March 19th
- Belfast – QFT – Queen’s University at 18:00 on Friday March 27th
Don’t Be Prey on IMDb is here.
Oceans Seven Swimmers
43 humans in history have completed the Oceans Seven as of May 1st 2026:
- Stephen Redmond (Ireland)
- Anna Carin Nordin (Sweden)
- Michelle Macy (USA)
- Darren Miller (USA)
- Adam Walker (UK)
- Kimberley Chambers (New Zealand)
- Antonio Argüelles (Mexico)
- Ion Lazarenco Tiron (Moldavia and Ireland)
- Rohan Dattatrey More (India)
- Abhejali Bernardová (Czech Republic)
- Cameron Bellamy (South Africa)
- Lynton Mortensen (Australia)
- Thomas Pembroke (Australia)
- Nora Toledano Cadena (Mexico)
- Mariel Hawley Dávila (Mexico)
- André Wiersig (Germany)
- Elizabeth Fry (USA)
- Attila Mányoki (Hungary)
- Jonathan Ratcliffe (UK)
- Jorge Crivilles Villanueva (Spain)
- Adrian Sarchet (Guernsey)
- Prabhat Koli (India)
- Dina Levačić (Croatia)
- Herman van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
- Andy Donaldson (Scotland)
- Stephen Junk (Australia)
- Kieron Palframan (South Africa)
- Bárbara Hernández Huerta (Chile)
- Mark Sowerby (Australia)
- Paul Georgescu (Romania)
- Zach Margolis (USA
- Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria)
- Nathalie Pohl (Germany)
- Caitlin O’Reilly (New Zealand)
- Ryan Utsumi (USA)
- Marcia Cleveland (USA)
- Eduardo Collazos Valle-Guayo (Peru)
- Rob Woodhouse (Australia)
- Alessandra Cima, Brazil
- Bengisu Avci, Turkey
- Simon Olliver, New Zealand
- Andreas Waschburger, Germany
- Joanne Norman, Australia
© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“
World Open Water Swimming Federation, a human-powered project.
New Open Water Swimming Educational and Motivational Course – register here