Description
The Swimming Diaries is an experimental docufiction film by Susan Thomson, an adaptation of her memoir into a visual and auditory exploration of grief and memory.
Each of the 25,000 words in her book corresponds to a metre swum during the month her mother was dying. The film translates this journey into movement, blending dance, music, and archival footage.
Featuring underwater sequences, surreal imagery, and a fusion of choral, orchestral, and pop music, creating a poignant meditation on loss and the enduring bond between mother and daughter.
About the Artist
Susan Thomson
Susan Thomson is a writer, filmmaker and visual artist, recently writing and directing The Swimming Diaries (2024) funded by an Arts Council of Ireland Reel Art film award, which premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival, and screened in 2025 at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival, and the soundtrack album featured on BBC Radio 3 Night Tracks.
The film is based on her memoir which was previously exhibited and sold at Artbook@PS1 MoMA, New York. They are also continuing to direct the award-winning series of films, Ghost Empire (2013-2025), funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, which explores constitutional challenges to British colonial anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Ghost Empire § Mauritius-Chagos (2025) premiered at Leeds Queer Film Festival in 2025. She has screened her films at Anthology Film Archives, New York, the Tate Modern, the Barbican, INIVA, London, and the Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro.
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