Shark Island Institute acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.
© SHARK ISLAND INSTITUTE | CONTACT US | PRIVACY POLICY |
Bondi Icebergs is the most photographed pool in the world. For nearly a century this spectacular 50 metre stretch of sparkling blue at the southern end of Bondi Beach has occupied a special corner in the hearts of millions.
This is where generations of children have learnt to swim, where the diehard have braved the frigid waters of one hundred winters, where the young and beautiful have come to bond and bake in the hot sun, and where sightseers from around the world have taken refuge during the scorching heights of endless Australian summers.
Icebergs is at once a meeting place, a resting place, a workout place and a place of romance and ritual. We come to understand that for those who seek it out, and return, it is a symbol of inclusivity, healing and resilience.
THE POOL is a stunning cinematic experience with a soundtrack that harks back to the 1960s and a cast of characters who each have a story to tell; breezy, heart-warming, funny and poignant. It speaks to the enduring power of community and our collective longing to find it, whoever we are and wherever we come from. No matter your background or where you’re at — everyone is equal in their swimsuits.
For more than 20 years I’ve been making and supporting social impact documentaries, dealing with some of the most challenging topics of our times — racism, child protection and abuse, youth homelessness, climate change, domestic violence, and teenage incarceration. I have long believed in the power of documentary for social change. Films that can shape attitudes, behaviour and even laws in this country.
More recently, however, I felt it was time to make a shift and create a film that might bring great joy and happiness to audiences, one that might put a smile on their faces and allow them to dream a little of their own lives.
Maybe it was turning 60, or possibly a hangover from the relative isolation of COVID? But after a short diversion into playwriting and acting, I returned to the world of documentary, determined to make films that highlighted the more positive elements of our society. I wanted to make films that illuminated unknown pockets of our world, that would open our eyes to the beauty of our own environment, whether urban or rural. Films that could highlight our yearning as social creatures for connection and a sense of community.
I have typically made films where I have felt a strong connection. THE POOL is one such film. While searching for the next story, I suddenly realised that Bondi Icebergs was right under my nose! Swimming is my main form of exercise. I swim about five times a week — in pools, bays and the ocean, even when the temperature plummets. That’s how much I love it!
My favourite place to swim is on the edge of Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, at the beautiful Bondi Icebergs pool — the most photographed pool in the world. It is an ocean pool, totally open to the elements, cleaned once a week and filled by the waves of a rising tide. That is one of the greatest attractions for me — swimming through the waves crashing over the edge directly into the swimming lanes most mornings.
Despite being a regular swimmer I’m not a member of the Icebergs winter swimming club. I don’t have the discipline to do the 75 swims in 5 years over the winter months from May to end of August. But I do have enormous respect and admiration for those who do. Routine is a very powerful force and discipline, and we observe these patterns in the film. We see a club where people care for and respect each other. They laugh, they connect, they are free of judgement, they don’t care what you did or who you were — they simply share a connection, a love of swimming and the challenge of cold water. This is a place where everyone is equal in their swim suits.
We set out to make a beautifully cinematic film, where every shot is a stunning portrait and a pleasure to watch. The filmmaking process opened our eyes to the raw beauty of the place, and how the smallest detail; a random wave, a spectacular sunrise, a massive storm, a perfect dive, an individual swimming stroke, the challenge of cold water, the fear of swimming, the healing powers of the water could help us create a story measured and told by the sum of the parts. Making this film also opened our eyes to the incredible cast of characters who populate this place. We didn’t want to make a traditional film where we followed a limited number of people in detail, rather we wanted to gain snippets from many characters who call the pool their home. But more than anything we wanted to make a film where there was just one central character. The pool itself. It just happened to have lots of arms and legs, and an endless well of stories to tell.
This is a time for gentle, poetic, meditative films to also find a place in the canon. We will always need documentaries that highlight injustice, human rights abuses, environmental destruction, and a myriad of other problems. But sometimes we need films that make us feel good about being human again too, and, perhaps, never more than now.
Ian Darling
Director — THE POOL
Sydney, May 2024.
Directed by
IAN DARLING
Produced by
MARY MACRAE
IAN DARLING
Editor
SALLY FRYER ASE
Director of Photography
BEN CUNNINGHAM ACS
Composer & Sound Designer
PAUL CHARLIER
Executive Producer
MARGARET SIMPSON-LEE
Executive Producer
PAUL WIEGARD
Executive Producer
GERALYN WHITE DREYFOUS
Executive Producer
KATE HODGES
Colourist
ANGELA CERASI
Re-recording Mixer
ANDY WRIGHT
Sound Recording
MARY MACRAE
EMMA DARLING
Production Assistant
ALISHA MANNING
Digital Manager
RHYS MORRIS
Poster Design
RACHEL DIGHT
Bondi Icebergs is the most photographed pool in the world. For nearly a century this spectacular 50 metre stretch of sparkling blue at the southern end of Bondi Beach has occupied a special corner in the hearts of millions.
This is where generations of children have learnt to swim, where the diehard have braved the frigid waters of one hundred winters, where the young and beautiful have come to bond and bake in the hot sun, and where sightseers from around the world have taken refuge during the scorching heights of endless Australian summers.
Icebergs is at once a meeting place, a resting place, a workout place and a place of romance and ritual. We come to understand that for those who seek it out, and return, it is a symbol of inclusivity, healing and resilience.
THE POOL is a stunning cinematic experience with a soundtrack that harks back to the 1960s and a cast of characters who each have a story to tell; breezy, heart-warming, funny and poignant. It speaks to the enduring power of community and our collective longing to find it, whoever we are and wherever we come from. No matter your background or where you’re at — everyone is equal in their swimsuits.
Eget leo adipiscing maximus interdum arcu maecenas erat adipiscing morbi nulla proin tortor rutrum suspendisse ex magna maximus felis diam rutrum consectetur sit accumsan nulla.
Ac sit lacus gravida sem nunc placerat nec leo phasellus enim enim orci accumsan nec bibendum vivamus magna varius phasellus scelerisque lorem sit a eget.
Eget leo adipiscing maximus interdum arcu maecenas erat adipiscing morbi nulla proin tortor rutrum suspendisse ex magna maximus felis diam rutrum consectetur sit accumsan nulla.
Ac sit lacus gravida sem nunc placerat nec leo phasellus enim enim orci accumsan nec bibendum vivamus magna varius phasellus scelerisque lorem sit a eget.
Eget leo adipiscing maximus interdum arcu maecenas erat adipiscing morbi nulla proin tortor rutrum suspendisse ex magna maximus felis diam rutrum consectetur sit accumsan nulla.
Ac sit lacus gravida sem nunc placerat nec leo phasellus enim enim orci accumsan nec bibendum vivamus magna varius phasellus scelerisque lorem sit a eget.
Eget leo adipiscing maximus interdum arcu maecenas erat adipiscing morbi nulla proin tortor rutrum suspendisse ex magna maximus felis diam rutrum consectetur sit accumsan nulla.
Ac sit lacus gravida sem nunc placerat nec leo phasellus enim enim orci accumsan nec bibendum vivamus magna varius phasellus scelerisque lorem sit a eget.
Eget leo adipiscing maximus interdum arcu maecenas erat adipiscing morbi nulla proin tortor rutrum suspendisse ex magna maximus felis diam rutrum consectetur sit accumsan nulla.
Ac sit lacus gravida sem nunc placerat nec leo phasellus enim enim orci accumsan nec bibendum vivamus magna varius phasellus scelerisque lorem sit a eget.
Eget leo adipiscing maximus interdum arcu maecenas erat adipiscing morbi nulla proin tortor rutrum suspendisse ex magna maximus felis diam rutrum consectetur sit accumsan nulla.
Ac sit lacus gravida sem nunc placerat nec leo phasellus enim enim orci accumsan nec bibendum vivamus magna varius phasellus scelerisque lorem sit a eget.
IAN DARLING
Director
Ian Darling is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. He is Executive Director of Shark Island Institute and Chair of Shark Island Foundation.
His Director and Producer credits for Shark Island Productions include THE TWINS, THE FINAL QUARTER, PAUL KELLY — STORIES OF ME, THE OASIS, SUZY & THE SIMPLE MAN, IN THE COMPANY OF ACTORS, ALONE ACROSS AUSTRALIA, WOODSTOCK FOR CAPITALISTS, POLLY & ME and THE COMEDIAN. He was also a Producer on THE DEPARTMENT, LIFE AFTER THE OASIS, WALL BOY and STORIES FROM THE INSIDE, and an Executive Producer of FLY, WASH MY SOUL IN THE RIVER’S FLOW, PAPER AND GLUE, ALLEN V. FARROW, ON THE RECORD, 2040, THE FOURTH ESTATE, THE BLEEDING EDGE, UNREST, INVENTING TOMORROW and HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD.
Ian Darling is currently directing and producing the feature documentaries THE SWIMMING POOL and THE VALLEY.
He co-wrote and acted in the award-winning play THE TWINS, a two-hander with comedian Greg Fleet. In 2021 the play was performed over 75 shows in Adelaide, Sydney, Kangaroo Valley, Canberra and Melbourne.
His photographs have been finalists in the National Photographic Portrait Prize, the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, the Sydney Life Photography Prize and the Head On Portrait Prize.
Ian Darling was Chair of The Caledonia Foundation from 2002 to 2022. He was Founder (and former Chair) of Documentary Australia Foundation, and Founder of Good Pitch Australia, which funded and helped create 19 social impact documentaries and outreach campaigns. He is a Member of the Impact Partners Advisory Board in New York. He was a former Chair of Sydney Theatre Company and STC Foundation, and a Director of National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and The Salvation Army Advisory Board.
He received the Byron Kennedy Award for innovation and the relentless pursuit of excellence at the 2018 AACTA Awards. Ian received the AFI/AACTA Award for Best Direction in a Documentary, has twice been a Walkley Awards Finalist, a winner of two Film Critics Award, and nominated for numerous Australian Directors Guild, AFI/AACTA, and IF awards. He was named Australia’s Leading Philanthropist by Philanthropy Australia in 2017.
He is a recipient of the Creative Partnerships Australia Business Leadership Award, and his homeless film project THE OASIS was named one of ‘Australia’s Top 50 Philanthropic Gifts of All Time.’ In 2018 Ian Darling was appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to documentary film production, to the performing arts, education and community engagement, and to social welfare organisations through philanthropic endeavours.
He has an MBA from IMD Switzerland, and a BA (Acc.) from the Australian National University.
