Dive into this session to get your dose of salty vibes. You’ll get to follow Belinda Baggs, Linley Hurrell, and Lilly Pollard on a journey of discovery along the Great Ocean Road and will then move on to find out how a group of swimmers trained to attempt a 23 kilometre ocean swim.

🏄 Great Ocean Love (30min)

Directed by Ella Bourn, and produced by Belinda Baggs, Linley Hurrell, & Josh Kirkman

Great Ocean Love is part documentary, part road-trippin’ surf flick that follows Belinda Baggs, Linley Hurrell, and Lilly Pollard on a journey of discovery along the Great Ocean Road.

Centred around the teachings of Gunditjmara whale dreamer Yaraan Bundle. Along the way, they meet saltwater women who share their love for the rugged coastline they call home.

🏊🏼‍♀️ BOUDDI WILD SWIM (55min)

Directed by Toni Houston and produced by Sarah Beard

BOUDDI WILD SWIM is human adventure in a changing world. At first glance it’s a simple quest; a group of swimmers training for and attempting a 23 kilometre ocean swim.

It’s a big undertaking; the shoreline follows Bouddi National Park on NSW’s Central Coast, which is raw bushland, treacherous seas and often inaccessible coastline. This quest is a classic meditation on human motivation, endurance and potential heroism. But it becomes much more. Mother Nature is in flux. A swim is no longer just a swim.

As the months unfold, dramatic challenges escalate; global pandemic, record-breaking floods, and shark attack. The swimmers’ local quest becomes a global lens. Whether they ’succeed’ isn’t up to them. It’s up to Mother Nature. And how she feels on the day…

A panel discussion and Q&A with the following speakers will take place after the screening of the films:

Toni Houston (Director, Bouddi Wild Swim)

Toni is passionate about the natural world, the ocean, and wildlife filmmaking. She has worked in documentary production for over 30 years, with multiple broadcast and independent credits as writer, editor, director and camera. This includes production for ABC TV, BBC Earth, CBC Canada and the Smithsonian Institute. She directed/edited/produced Being Change for ABC’s Compass program, was co-producer/camera for The Peacemaker on ABC’s Australian Story and most recently was engaged as writer/editor by Northern Pictures producing the six-part natural history series A Wild Year on Earth and the ABC TV co-produced documentary After the Wildfires. She currently works as Media & Content Coordinator for Aussie Ark, which specializes in breeding and rewilding endangered Australian species. Toni has been a scuba diver and ocean swimmer since her teens. She hopes Bouddi Wild Swim inspires others to connect more deeply to Mother Nature and embark on adventures that foster better understanding and protection of Her.

Jeremy Wilmot (Sound Designer, Bouddi Wild Swim)

Jeremy Wilmot is an audio engineer and sound designer specialising in TV promos, radio commercials, podcasts, and audiobooks, with a long industry track-record and numerous credits including SBS TV. Sound designing and mixing for Bouddi Wild Swim is Jeremy’s foray into feature documentaries. He connected with the film team via his local swim group on the Central Coast. Because Jeremy is a seasoned ocean swimmer, the project was a perfect fit. Jeremy’s daily swims and coastal adventures was his creative research! His audio design had to be as varied as the ocean itself; from the nuanced bubbling of water entering a swimmer’s ears through to pounding surf. The end result is a three dimensional immersive soundscape that really conveys the aquatic personality of Mother Nature. Referencing the Darkinjung language of the Central Coast, Jeremy wanted to pay homage to “the different flavours of Gurawa or ‘mother’s womb’…calm, angry, and everything in between.”

Nicole Holyer (Ocean Swimmer, Bouddi Wild Swim)

Nicole Holyer is a communication professional, writer and ocean swimmer. She has swum all her life, and turned to ocean swimming after relocating to Sydney from her hometown of Brisbane. Nicole was an early member of the Bondi Swimblers and joined the Peninsula Ocean Swimmers in Umina after moving to the Central Coast. During lockdown, Nicole began testing her mettle by swimming longer distances. When a call went out for a marathon swim between Terrigal and Umina, Nicole jumped at the chance to explore the coast by sea. The rigorous training and the focus on a big, exciting goal was a welcome distraction from the mundanity and stress of the pandemic. As a new mum and step mum, taking part in the Bouddi Wild Swim was an act of both bravery and joy, allowing Nicole to show her boys (and herself) that we can pursue our dreams, even when life is tricky. Nicole contributes to oceanswims.com and is on the lookout for her next oceanic adventure.

More panellists will be announced soon!

To see our full program and detailed information please go to: https://wildearthoceania.com/