Seatavern

Water Rats – Film Screening & Author Q&A

Hosted by Serai Dowling, author of the bestselling books A Guide to the Tidal Pools of the Western Cape and A Guide to Wild Swimming in the Western CapeJoin us for a special screening of Water Rats, the acclaimed documentary by filmmakers Jillian Edelstein & Greig Coetzee. The Water Rats captures the adventures of twelve strangers who, coming from diverse walks of life; mixed ages, ethnicity and interests, unite over the coronavirus lockdown to continue cold water swimming during and in spite of the first Lockdown in 2020.At first, editor, director and writer Greig Coetzee and award winning photographer and film producer , director Jillian Edelstein had planned to write a six part TV drama - they had met in Esther Freud’s writing group - but, later, decided to make a documentary using all the material gathered, including visuals -stills, drone footage, B roll film and interviews with the members of the Water Rats group.The group continued to swim together through the Pandemic, becoming a motley crew of outlaws visiting various wild cold waters locations around Hampstead Heath.The film explores the power of the human connection arising from such a unique and challenging experience within the natural scenarios of some of London’s best-kept-secret natural locations.In July 2022, The Water Rats was awarded two Impact Awards for Originality/Creativity and merit award for Feature Documentary.

The Labia Theatre, Screen 2 23 November 2025 13:45 R100 per ticket PG 16 Seats are limited – please book ahead

The afternoon includes a Q&A with Serai Dowling after the film, where she will speak about her own bestselling books and the forthcoming documentary she is developing on the tidal pool swimmers of Cape Town. (Jillian Edelstein serves as an advisor on the project.)Signed copies of Serai’s books will be available for purchase after the screening.