Freedom Swimmer was funded by Screen Australia before the pandemic but the filmmakers were not able to complete the film during COVID and thus it was part animated in France. The film was then commissioned by ARTE TV in France and SBS in Australia, Produced by Sacrebleu Productions in France and No Thing Productions in Australia. It is now also screening on PBS POV, Short of the Week and Aeon.

The story came to Olivia whilst living in Hong Kong. It is a story that those interviewed wanted to tell - but feared the consequences of doing so. It is based on anonymous interviews and has used actors to re-record all the lines.

Freedom Swimmer has received fifty awards including the Bridging the Borders Award at Palm Springs, best short at Millennium Docs Against Gravity, best short and the Ellen Award at Aspen and a highly commended Grierson Award.

Awards

Winner Highly Commended Grierson Trust, Best Documentary Short, 2022

Winner Best Animation, Aspen Shortsfest, Academy & BAFTA Qualifying, 2022

Winner Ellen Award, Aspen Shortsfest, US, 2022

Winner Yoram Gross Award for Best Short Animation, Academy & BAFTA Qualifying, Sydney Film Festival, 2021

Winner Best Short Film, Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, Poland,2022

Winner Best Short Film, One World Media Awards, London, 2022

Winner Best International Short Film, Academy Qualifying, DocEdge Festival, 2022

Winner Bridging The Borders Award, Palm Springs Shortsfest, 2022

Winner Best Short Documentary Award, Santa Fe International Film Festival, USA, 2022

Winner Best Short Documentary Award, Chicago International Childrens Festival, USA, 2022

Winner Special Mention Best Short Film, Movies that Matter, the Hague, 2022

Winner Special Mention Best Short Documentary, 19th In the Palace, Bulgaria 2022

Winner Best Short Documentary, Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC), 2022

Winner Best Director of a Short Documentary, Australian Directors Guild, 2022

Winner Best Short Documentary, Calgary International Film Festival, 2022

Winner Telus Audience Choice Award, Calgary International Film Festival, 2022

Winner Doc'Anim Award, Animatou Film Festival, Switzerland 2022

Winner Best International Short Audience Award, Hot Springs Documentary Festival, USA 2022

Winner Best World Short Film Award, IndiCork, Ireland, 2022

Winner Best Documentary Short, Key West Film Festival, Florida, 2022

Winner Best Film, Mino Competition, Festival Plein La Bobine, France 2022

Winner Best Grand Action Film, Unifrance competition, Cannes, France 2022

Winner Film House Award, Athens International Film and Video Festival, USA, 2022

Winner Craft Award, St Kilda Film Festival, Australia 2022

Winner Best Short Film, Cardiff Animation Festival, UK, 2022

Winner Best Australian Short Film, CinefestOZ Festival, Western Australia, 2022

Winner Grand Film Prize, Femme Filmmakers Film Festival, Italy, 2022

Winner Best Sound, Femme Filmmakers Film Festival, Italy, 2022

Winner Bronze Award, Best Short Film, Manhattan Short Film Festival, 2022

Winner Best Mixed Media Film, Spark Film Festival, Vancouver, 2021

Winner Best Mixed Media, Discover Film Festival, London, 2022

Winner Best Creative, Kendal Mountain Film Festival, UK, 2021

Winner Audience Award, Leiden Shorts, The Netherlands, 2022

Winner Best Film, FIFF International Short Film Competition, Stuttgart, 2022

Winner Best Short Film, Festival St Paul Les Trois Chateaux, France, 2022

Winner Best Animated Film, Shorts Mexico, Mexico, 2022

Winer Most Inspiring True Story, Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival, Australia 2022

Winner Best Short and Best Animation, Shorts not Pants, Toronto, 2022

Winner Outstanding Achievement in Sound, West Australian Screen Awards, 2022

Winner Innovation in Short Film, West Australian Screen Awards, 2022

Winner Audience Award, Coronado Island Film Festival, USA, 2022

Winner Audience Award, Australian Short Film Today, Austin, Texas, 2022

Winner Jury Prize, Paris Courts Devant, France, 2023

Winner Special Mention, Stellar Short Film Festival, Frankston, 2023

Winner Best Animated Documentary, Animatricks Animation Festival, Helsinki, 2023

Winner Best Short Documentary, Psaroloco International Children's & Young People’s Film Festival 2023, Greece, 2023

Winner Best Short Documentary, Uptilt Film Festival, USA, 2023

Winner Audience Award for Best Short, Kaboom Festival, Netherlands, 2023

Winner Best Short Film, Fairhope Film Festival, Alabama, 2023

Screenings

August 2021

September 2021

October 2021

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

February 2022

March 2022

April 2022

May 2022

June 2022

July 2022

August 2022

September 2022

October 2022

October 2022 October 2022 October 2022

October 2022

November 2022

December 2022

January 2023

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

June 2023

June2023

Official Selection, Academy & BAFTA Accredited ® Melbourne International Film Festival

Official Selection, Loudon Arts Festival, Virginia

Official Selection, DC Shorts, Washington

Official Selection, Spark Film Festival, Vancouver

Official Selection, AIX En-Provence France

Official Selection, Academy & BAFTA Accredited ® PÖFF Festival Estonia

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® DOCNYC

Official Selection, Kendal Mountain Film Festival

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® Sydney Film Festival

Official Selection, Animateka, Slovenia

Official Selection, Academy & BAFTA Accredited ® Flickerfest

Official Selection, International Film Festival Rotterdam, BAFTA qualifying

Official Selection, 34th Minimalen Short Film Festival, Trondheim, Norway

Official Selection, Academy & BAFTA Accredited ® Slamdance

Official Selection, Brussels International Film Festival, Brussels

Official Selection, 10th Asia Pacific Triennial (QAGOMA), Queensland

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® Santa Barbara, California

Official Selection, 7th GLAS Animation Festival, Berkeley, California

Official Selection, 24th Mecal Pro, the Barcelona International Short and Animation Festival

Official Selection, Salem Film Festival, Massachusetts

Official Selection, Tricky Women Film Festival, Austria

Official Selection, Boulder Film Festival, Colorado

Official Selection, Veterans Film Festival, Sydney, Australia

Official Selection, Ennesimo Film Festival, Modena, Italy

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® Athens International Film and Video Festival

Official Selection, Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Kyiv, Ukraine

Official Selection, Academy & BAFTA Accredited ® Aspen Shortsfest, Colorado

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® 19th In the Palace, Bulgaria

Official Selection, Cardiff Animation Festival, Wales

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ®31st Florida International Film Festival, Florida

Official Selection, Fantaspoa, Brazil

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® RiverRun Film Festival, North Carolina

Official Selection, Flatpack, BAFTA Qualifying

Official Selection, CinefestOz Albany, Perth

Official Selection, Festival national du film d’animation de Rennes

Official Selection, Movies that Matter Festival, the Hague, the Netherlands

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® Cleveland International Film Festival, Academy Qualifying

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® St Kilda Film Festival, Melbourne

Official Selection, Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, Poland

Official Selection, Lichter Film Festival, Frankfurt

Official Selection, International Trickfilm-Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart, BAFTA Qualifying

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® LA Asia Pacific Film Festival

Official Selection, Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, BAFTA qualifying, Wales

Official Selection, Austrian Department of Amnesty international

Official Selection, Sigmund Freud Museum, Vienna

Official Selection, Unifrance Short Film Award, Cannes

One World Media Awards, London

Official Selection, Plein La Bobine, France

Official Selection, Lyon projection, ARTE

Official Selection, PyeongChang Int'l Peace Film Festival, Korea

Official Selection, Forum des images, France

Official Selection, Palm Springs Film Festival, Shortfest, BAFTA Qualifying

Official Selection, Academy Accredited ® Doc Edge Film Festival, New Zealand

Official Selection, San Francisco Documentary Film Festival

Official Selection, Independent Film Festival Ypsilanti, Michigan

Official Selection, Leiden Shorts, the Netherlands,

Official Selection, Anibar Film Festival, Kosovo

Official Selection, Maui Film Festival, Hawaii

Official Selection, Freedom Film Festival Radom, Poland

Official Selection, UN Pays UN Film Festival, France

Official Selection, CinefestOZ Busselton, Australia

Official Selection, Holly Shorts Film Festival, California

Official Selection, BAFTA Accredited ® Edinburgh Film Festival, Scotland, 2022

Official Selection, Manhattan Short Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, Discover Film Awards, London, 2022

Official Selection, Calgary International Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, Francigena Film Festival, Italy, September 2022

Official Selection, Carmarthen Bay Travelling Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, Nashville Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, American French Film Festival, Los Angeles, 2022

Official Selection, Santa Fe Film Festival, New Mexico, 2022

Official Selection, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, IndiCork Film Festival, Ireland, 2022

Official Selection, San Jose International Short Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, Animatou Animation Film Festival, Geneva, 2022

Official Selection, Heart of Gold Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, Femme Filmmakers Festival, 2022

Official Selection, Canlandiranlar International Film Festival, Turkey, 2022

Official Selection, Antipodes Festival, St Tropez, 2022

Official Selection, St Kilda Travelling Film Festival, Ireland, 2022

Official Selection, Adelaide Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, Virginia Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, International Festival du Film Francophone de Tubingen-Stuttgart, 2022

Official Selection, Chicago International Children's Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, Veterans Film Festival, Australia, 2022

Official Selection, Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival, Colorado 2022

Official Selection, DocStories, San Francisco Internationa Film Festival, 2022

Official Selection, DOCNYC Meet the Press; Seeking Refuge, Finding Home, 2022

Official Selection, Coronado Island Film Festival, San Diego 2022

Official Selection, Pittsburgh Shorts, Pennsylvania 2022

Official Selection, Key West Film Festival, Florida 2022

Official Selection, Chilliwack Independant Film Festival, Canada 2022

Official Selection, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterhur 2022

Official Selection, Sequence Court-Metrage, France 2022

Official Selection, Des cinés, la vie! (Movies, Life!), France 2022 - 23

Official Selection, Emile-Reynaud (European Animation) Awards 2022

Official Selection, FIFF international Short Film Competition, Tübingen Stuttgart 2022

Official Selection, Shorts Not Pants, Toronto, 2022

Official Selection, Oscar Contenders Showcase by IndieWire, ShortsTV and National Geographic, Los Angeles

Official Selection, Australian Short Film Today, Austin, Texas 2022

Official Selection, Smita Patil International Film Festival, India 2022

Official Selection, Fugitif Short Film Festival, France,2023

Official Selection, Paris Court Devant, France, 2023

Official Selection, Kaboom Festival, Netherlands 2023

Official Selection, Stellar Short Film Festival, Frankston 2023

Official Selection, Annapolis Film Festival, USA, 2023

Official Selection, Uptilt Film Festival, North Carolina 2023

Official Selection, Fargo Film Festival, North Dakota 2023

Official Selection, Festival Cinema for Change, 2023

Official Selection, ReelGood Film Festival, Melbourne, 2023

Official Selection, Psaroloco International Children's & Young People’s Film Festival, Athens 2023

Official Selection, Festival Trois Jours Trop Courts, France 2023

Official Selection, Festival Courtivore, France, 2023

Official Selection, Animatricks Animation Festival, Helsinki, 2023