Swimming with Butterflies
Oct 23, 2024 | IMDB 0
8 min Watch NowFamily, Documentary
After missing bronze by 1/100th of a second at the 2016 Paralympic Games, Austin-based swimmer Lizzi Smith shares an intimate story of how changing her self-perception didn’t just bring her back to the pool: it’s bringing hope to the next generation.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
The Girl and the Echo
Cold Refuge
Living in Fear
Summer Days with Coo
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
One of Them Is Named Brett
Nina is an Athlete
Against the Current
Skyward
Sports
Murderball
Venetian Shores
We Could Be Heroes
Open Water
Voices from the Shadows
To the Sea
Lifesaving and Water Safety: Snorkeling Skills and Rescue Techniques
Song of the Sea
FLOAT!
Rising Phoenix
SIMILAR MOVIES
The Girl and the Echo
IMDB 6.1 | Dec , 1964
The movie, based on a story by Yuri Nagibin, depicts a young girl named Vika enjoying the last days of summer vacations in a sea resort somewhere in the south.Cold Refuge
IMDB 0 | Apr , 2023
Cold Refuge is about the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of full immersion in the natural world: how, though it may seem counter-intuitive, swimming in cold water helps mitigate some of life’s most serious challenges. The film’s diverse film subjects include a wheelchair-bound, paralyzed swimmer who faces fear by diving off a high pier; a Black man who was told by whites when he was 13 that “Black people don’t swim” (it took him 30 years to try); a blind man who tethers himself to a sighted swimmer; a woman with aggressive breast cancer who “swims to chemo;” a lawyer who reduces courtroom stress in the open water; and a young woman who communes with her late mother in San Francisco Bay, where they both swam together. Along with swimmers’ stories of adversity and resilience, the film’s marine mammals, birds, artwork, and a variety of open-water locations create a visual meditation on what it means to escape our abstract digital world in favor of what’s real.Living in Fear
IMDB 0 | Jul , 2025
Filmed and edited entirely in isolation, Living in Fear is an educational and inspiring documentary directed by myself, Stephanie Castelete-Tyrrell, a disabled filmmaker as I capture the fears and struggles disabled people faced before the government implemented the lockdown on the 23rd March 2020. Thousands of people with disabilities were left in the dark and had to make the call weeks before to lockdown as it was inevitable that we would die if we caught the virus. Food was impossible to access because we couldn't go out or get delivery slots, and even if we did panic buyers made it impossible to get the items we desperately needed. We were truly isolated, unable to have family and friends visit. Having carers coming in and out of the house was risky and many disabled people felt that having basic care was putting their lives at risk.Summer Days with Coo
IMDB 7.8 | Jul , 2007
A small, lone Kappa miraculously survives over 200 years into modern day Japan, when he is found by young Koichi. Coo, who is secretly adopted by Koichi's family, searches with his new human friend for unpopulated places in hopes of finding any remaining of his kind.Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
IMDB 7.2 | Mar , 2020
Down the road from Woodstock in the early 1970s, a revolution blossomed in a ramshackle summer camp for disabled teenagers, transforming their young lives and igniting a landmark movement.One of Them Is Named Brett
IMDB 7 | Jan , 1965
A look into the life of Brett, a boy born without arms due to thalidomide exposure.Nina is an Athlete
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2024
On the cusp of turning 40, wheelchair badminton champion Nina Gorodetsky, has her first and maybe last, chance to participate in the Paralympics. However, she is negotiating a ticking biological clock both as a mother and as an athlete. What would she be willing to sacrifice to realize her Olympic dream?Against the Current
IMDB 0 | Mar , 2021
Against the Current is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the journey of South African endurance swimmer Sarah Ferguson, as she attempts to become the first person ever to swim around Easter Island (Rapa Nui) non-stop. It tells the story of a global team united, not only in trying to make Sarah’s 40-mile challenge a success, but also in using it to raise awareness about the issue of plastic pollution. Without being able to touch a boat or another person, her daunting swim was estimated to take up to 32 hours to complete, through strong currents, large waves, powerful winds and other hurdles along the way. Against the Current is now screening at film festivals.Skyward
IMDB 6.9 | Nov , 1980
Billie Dupree is a flight instructor at an old Texas airport. When a young girl in a wheelchair finds the airport by watching gliders fly, she decides she wants to learn how to fly. Dupree teaches her to fly with some special controls compensating for her handicap. Koup Trenton runs an aircraft repair service and is trying desperately to get an old airplane back in the air. The three, together, put the young girl and the old plane up in the air.Sports
IMDB 0 | Jul , 1932
The film is about a protest provoked when the university decided to restrict access to sports facilities to athletes, cutting out all other students. This is, strictly speaking, not a Prokino film. It was produced by the Waseda University Film Circle, which was organized by Kawazoe Shiro. Feature film directors Yamamoto Satsuo and Taniguchi Senkichi were apparently students at Waseda at the time and participated in the production.Murderball
IMDB 7.1 | Jul , 2005
Quadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.Venetian Shores
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1914
Blissful scenes of tourists arriving by boat and then sea bathing on a beach in the Venetian lagoon.We Could Be Heroes
IMDB 0 | May , 2018
Moroccan paralympic gold medalist Azzedine Nouiri is no longer looking for the longest throw, but to overthrow the system that keeps athletes with different abilities marginalized as destitute second-class citizens.Open Water
IMDB 8 | Dec , 2023
Nikki is no professional athlete. Still, she swims the English channel to raise money for a good cause.Voices from the Shadows
IMDB 0 | Jul , 2025
‘Voices from the Shadows’ shows the brave and sometimes heartrending stories of five ME patients and their carers, along with input from Dr Nigel Speight, Prof Leonard Jason and Prof Malcolm Hooper. These were filmed and edited between 2009 and 2011, by the brother and mother of an ME patient in the UK. It shows the devastating consequences that occur when patients are disbelieved and the illness is misunderstood. Severe and lasting relapse occurs when patients are given inappropriate psychological or behavioural management: management that ignores the severe amplification of symptoms that can be caused by increased physical or mental activity or exposure to stimuli, and by further infections. A belief in behavioural and psychological causes, particularly when ME becomes very severe and chronic, following mismanagement, is still taught to medical students and healthcare professionals in the UK. As a consequence, situations similar to those shown in the film continue to occur.To the Sea
IMDB 6.8 | Feb , 2010
Before leaving for Rome with his mother, five year old Natan is taken by his father, Jorge, on an epic journey to the pristine Chinchorro reef off the coast of Mexico. As they fish, swim, and sail the turquoise waters of the open sea, Natan discovers the beauty of his Mayan heritage and learns to live in harmony with life above and below the surface, as the bond between father and son grows stronger before their inevitable farewell.Lifesaving and Water Safety: Snorkeling Skills and Rescue Techniques
IMDB 0 | Apr , 1972
The film provides a comprehensive guide on snorkeling skills and rescue techniques, emphasizing the importance of proper equipment such as masks, snorkels, and fins. It discusses how to choose the right mask for comfort and fit, the proper use of snorkels, and techniques for clearing water from both masks and snorkels. The film also covers essential skills for entering the water safely, practicing buddy systems during snorkeling, and techniques for locating and rescuing submerged victims. It highlights the need for training and emphasizes that while these skills are crucial for rescue, they do not replace the need for a full certified course in skin diving.Song of the Sea
IMDB 8 | Jun , 2014
The story of the last Seal Child’s journey home. After their mother’s disappearance, Ben and Saoirse are sent to live with Granny in the city. When they resolve to return to their home by the sea, their journey becomes a race against time as they are drawn into a world Ben knows only from his mother’s folktales. But this is no bedtime story; these fairy folk have been in our world far too long. It soon becomes clear to Ben that Saoirse is the key to their survival.FLOAT!
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2023
With depth, intimacy, and humor, FLOAT! captures filmmaker Azza Cohen's magnetic grandma’s life-affirming journey learning to swim at 82, inspiring audiences to defy societal expectations of aging and to boldly look forward at every stage.Rising Phoenix
IMDB 8.1 | Aug , 2020
Elite athletes and insiders reflect on the Paralympic Games and examine how they impact a global understanding of disability, diversity and excellence.