Event details

Drowning Our Sorrows

Cat White is delighted to premier her short film Fifty-Four Days in Oxford, her home town. It follows the story of a girl
paralysed by grief following the suicide of her father. By swimming each day at dawn and forming an unlikely friendship she learns to accept her grief and the grief of those around her. This story mirrors Cat’s own experience following the suicide of a friend, and how swimming in Hinksey Lake gave her an outlet to grieve. The film is followed by In Conversation with Cat White, and Ella Foote, swimming
journalist and author of How to Wild Swim.
For those brave souls who would like to join us and venture into the water before, at their own risk, Hinksey Lake is three minutes' walk from the Community Centre.

Drowning Our Sorrows

 
Date & Time:  Sunday 22nd October 2023
1.30pm for swimmers (NEW TICKETS ADDED)
3pm for film and discussion (TICKETS AVAILABLE)
Event ends at 5pm

Location of Event:  Hinksey Lake, Hinksey Park, Abingdon Rd,
Oxford OX1 4PZ, and next door, Main Hall, South
Oxford Community Centre, Lake St, Oxford, OX1 4RP

Charge:  Swim (free, but booking essential)
Film and talk, cake and drink: £15 (£10 conc) + booking fee

Wheelchair Accessible:  Yes for film and talk, but not for swim


Contributors

Cat White

Catherine Joy White is an actor, writer, filmmaker, gender  advisor to the UN and founder of the award-winning Kusini
Productions, a company established to champion the voices of Black women. She has been honoured as a member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2022, longlisted for AllBright’s ‘Innovative Trailblazer Award’, is an alumni of We Are
Parable/Channel 4’s Momentum programme and is a BAFTA connect member. She can be seen in Amazon Prime’s Ten
Percent, Channel 4's Threesome and the latest Black Mirror. Her debut film, Fifty-Four Days, which she wrote, co-directed,
produced and starred in has screened at prestigious BIFA, BAFTA and Oscar qualifying festivals worldwide, winning
multiple awards including Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Short Film. Her debut book This Thread of Gold, named by the New Statesman as an essential book for 2023, as the i's non-fiction book of the month and "extraordinary" by bestseller Afua Hirsch, was published in the UK in June
2023 by Dialogue Books and will be published in America in 2024 from Penguin Random House’s Tiny Reparations Books.
She recently announced that she has adapted the final chapter of This Thread of Gold for screen and will direct it as a short
film starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw MBE.
She is a proud ambassador for PAPYRUS, the UK's national charity for the prevention of young suicide and a mentor on The Page One Project.

www.catwhite.co.uk

Ella Foote

Ella Foote is an author, editor and outdoor swimming expert. She is Editor at Outdoor Swimmer magazine, the world’s only
monthly magazine dedicated to outdoor swimming. She is also Director of Dip Advisor, a swim guiding business helping
people enjoy wild water. Ella’s first book, How to Wild Swim: What to Know Before Taking the Plunge is published this
November. Ella also teaches swimming to children and adults, is an Open Water Coach and RLSS Open Water Lifeguard.
A renowned swimming journalist Ella writes for all sorts of national media, often about swimming, environment, mental health or body image. She has had by-lines in The Guardian, The Times. Stylist Magazine, The Simple Things, Country File magazine and various smaller titles. She has appeared on several podcasts and has featured in a variety of television
programmes.
An intrepid swim explorer, she is constantly seeking out new rivers, lakes, ponds, seas and pools to plunge into. She enjoys
swimming in all seasons and has completed swims like an English Channel relay crossing, 24-hour swim challenge, the
Thames Marathon 14k and the Dart 10k, as well as smaller more joyful dips and dunks across the country. You can follow her and her swimming on Instagram.


@ellachloeswims