Private Project

SWIMirl

SWIMirl is a cinematic and spatial installation showing at the Hong Kong Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (Hong Kong). Created in collaboration with Robert Bourke Architects an co-produced with Areaman Productions, the piece responds to the Biennale’s theme entitled ‘Seeds of Resilience’. Participants proposed ways that worldwide citizens can cope with contemporary urban challenges such as socio-political flux, global pandemics and the climate and biodiversity crisis.

  • Marion Bergin
    Director
  • Rob Bourke RBA Architects
    Comissioner/Installation Collaborator
  • Shane Hogan
    Producer
  • Kevin L Smith
    DOP
  • Kev Moore
    Sound Recordist
  • James Latimer
    Music and Sound Design
  • Aisling Calt
    Editor
  • Leandro Arouca
    Colour Grade
  • Kiva Durkan
    Production Assistant
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Art film, Immersive, Documentary
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 10, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Ireland
  • Country of Filming:
    Ireland
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Hong Kong and Shenzen Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism
    Hong Kong
    Hong Kong
    October 9, 2022
Director Biography - Marion Bergin

Educated with a BA in History of Art and Italian from Trinity College Dublin, Marion comes to film from a 15 year career in the fashion industry.

Driven by a hunger for fresh challenges and artistic exploration, she embarked on a journey to exolore new boundaries of creativity. Cutting her teeth in styling and art direction, she promptly transitioned to the director's chair infusing her unique vision into both narrative and abstract storytelling.

She aspires to develop work that questions the status quo, examines the foundations of society and fosters new perspectives through shared human experience. She approaches films as she would a fashion collection, weaving her stories with colourful production design, emotive edits and compelling sound immersions.

She's picked up a few gongs along with way including Best Documentary Short for her debut doc 'Saoirse' at Kinsale Shark Awards. She's also been nominated for the YDA's 2021 and 2022 for her film 'Saorise' as well as twice in the dream pitch category.

A trained yoga and meditation teacher, she sees wonder and awe as a basic human need and thought her creative work explores, humanity's innate desire to connect with nature. She believes in beauty as healer, by exposing ourselves to things and experiences that move beyond the banal, we nourish the soul, living in presence with a richer, more fulfilling human experience.

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Director Statement

I was intially drawn to the winter waters in adverse conditions. We'd experienced some family losses in close succession. The festivities are challenging during a period of bereavement so it was time to create new traditions, mostly for distraction. I persuaded my sister to do the 'Christmas Morning Swim' in our local boat club where locals plunge into the water in temperatures as low as 4 degrees. The whole family came with some holding towels but we all enjoyed the feelings of warmth and good will fostered in the cold waters all washed down with hot whiskies afterwards.

This became a year round habit, a place where I always found peace and a sense of connection to something great, something beyond the self. When the pandemic hit and everyone in Ireland was stuck within 2K lockdown others turned to the water for solace as I had done and people flocked to socialise, alleviate boredom and feel the same sense of relief that we'd felt when we started that first Christmas.

I was approached by Robert Bourke Architects to make a film for the Hong Kong Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, the theme of which was 'Seeds of Resilience'. He specifically wanted to make a piece around sea swimming to show to the Hong Kongese how Dubliners had worked through turbulent times of the pandemic in the waters and baths dotted along the coast.

The story I told is both my story and everyone's story. The people of Dublin all swim regardless of creed, culture and socio economic status. - all in it together in that big black pool which is what Dublin(Dubh Linn) translates to in Irish. We developed the idea of an immersive piece to be installed in a tented structure on the pier in Hong Kong where the viewer could just drop in and sit with the experience of the sea. The soundscape was designed to encourage a drop in cortisol with the looped film offering the viewer temporary respite from the stress of the pandemic and political flux in the city. The digital film was created to transcend time and place transporting viewers to the Irish sea, an approximation of the well-being felt from the real-life experience of swimming in Dublin.

*note that the film was crafted to be screened on a loop hence there are no titles, same can be added for festival screening. Note style of same on trailer.