Veteran British marathon swimmer Simon Holliday, who wears a variety of hats in the open water swimming world, has embarked on his most ambitious project yet – the production of a series of documentary films called The Seven Swims – Stories of Survival.
Based on Hong Kong, Holliday tells the incredibly fascinating backstories of heroes and heroines in the open water – historical, inspirational, and educational episodes that have long occurred throughout the Pacific Rim.
His first proof of concept for The Seven Swims series is a fascinating story entitled Escape from Hong Kong [shown here].
The Seven Swims
The Seven Swims – Escape from Hong Kong is a proof of concept. The 18-minute film will be remastered to be the first of The Seven Swims – a documentary series recreating amazing swims across Asia Pacific, including:
- Strokes of the Samurai about the importance of swimming in feudal Japan
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy in The Solomon Islands about a wartime swim of derring do
- Cold War Crossing about Lynne Cox’s swim across Bering Straits
- Swimming with sharks – an uncomfortable co-existence in Australia
- The Water Kingdom – Mao’s swim across the Yangtze River
- Waterman: searching for Duke Kahanamoku about swimming and surfing in Hawaii
- [Extra] Volcanoes, earthquakes & tidal waves about the eruption of Mount Krakatoa
Holliday, who currently serves as the Chief Development Officer of The Splash Foundation and was named as one of the World’s 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men , adds, “If you are filmmaker or producer and interested in collaborating on this project, please drop me a line via email at simon@splashfoundation.org.”
Watch the proof of concept, Escape from Hong Kong, here.
“I love learning and seeing all these untold episodes and unknown stories with the omnipresent background being the open water environment,” said Steven Munatones. “Simon’s perspective is unique and he ties together all these snapshots of history – from samurai to Lynne Cox – in a comprehensive, cohesive whole. It is so great to see someone’s passion like what Simon has long shown in the open water develop into a creative gift that he offers the world.”
© 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.