Die Frau, die sich traut

When she was young, Beate was one of the best competitive swimmers in the GDR, but never pursued her carreer further. The now almost 50-year-old laundry employee works devotedly for her family – a full but unfulfilled life. When she is diagnosed with cervical cancer, Beate decides against all contradictory advice to realise one of her dreams: Swim the English Channel. She is no longer willing at this turning point in her life to put the needs of her family, nor those of her employer, before her own. She drags the old rowing machine out of the cellar and from now on trains daily in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea and takes ice baths. The regime is tough, and Beate soon realises that she is not only up against the cold currents of the English Channel, but also the resistance of her own family – and the clock. (Zurich Film Festival)