Film > TV / Cinema Film

THE SWIMMER

TBWA\NEBOKO, Amsterdam / FONDS GEHANDICAPTENSPORT / 2017

Awards:

Bronze Cannes Lions
CampaignCampaign(opens in a new tab)
Film

Overview

Credits

Overview

BriefExplanation

We see how the swimmer dives in the water and how he moves with powerful strokes. This sport performance becomes even more impressive when we see that the athlete misses both legs. A text appears: ‘Think this is impressive?’ Followed by: ‘How about this?’

The film goes back in time where we see the same man. This time in a wheelchair, while he tries to open the front door of a building. Throughout the rest of the film we see how he overcomes various hurdles in the swimming pool complex. The stairs, in the locker room, in the shower. It's a tough road before he eventually arrives at the starting block, ready for his actual sport. A text appears: ‘Let's make sports accessible to everyone.’

We open the eyes of the naive viewer. By playing on what the viewer finds impressive, and by then highlighting the bigger, yet unknown achievement.

EntrySummary

In The Netherlands there are 9.5 million active sports enthusiasts. 1.7 million of these athletes are people with disabilities who need additional support. Fonds Gehandicapte Sport (Foundation for Handicapped Sporters) is committed to this group by recruiting financial aid, in turn providing subsidies to sport associations to purchase customized materials or perform structural adjustments.

Concerning disabled sports, the outside world always thinks of the sport performance itself. What we don’t realise is that extra effort is required from these athletes to even play their sport. The road to exercise is almost a sport; when they don’t receive the proper help or the right facilities. The effort is usually so great, that many disabled people quit.

And that's a problem: not only because physical exercise is important, but also due to the social aspect. That applies, of course, to everyone, but especially for this group it is even more important.

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