Elliott Simon Hasler (born 29 July 2000) is an English film director and screenwriter. Hasler is best known for the biopic ''

Vindication Swim ''Vindication Swim'' is an upcoming biographical drama film about swimmer Mercedes Gleitze, who in 1927 became the first British woman to swim the English Channel. The film is written and directed by Elliott Hasler, starring Kirsten Callaghan in ...

'', which centres around the story of

Mercedes Gleitze Mercedes Carey (née Gleitze; 18 November 1900 – 9 February 1981) was a British professional swimmer. She was the first known person to swim the Straits of Gibraltar and the first British woman to swim the English Channel. The name of Merce ...

and her attempt to become the first British woman to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

Career

Having never received any formal teaching in relation to filmmaking, Hasler began his career aged 14 with the production of '' WWII: The Long Road Home''. The film took three years to make and was made while Hasler was still at school. The film centred upon the story of Hasler's great-grandfather who was an escaped

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was completed in 2017, when Hasler was 16 years old. ''WWII: The Long Road Home'' was released to critical praise, citing the scope and scale of the project in relation to Hasler's age. Critic Graham Fuller described Hasler as "maybe the next Spielberg", calling the film "a miracle achievement for a schoolboy director", and Tim Walker of ''The New European'' called the film "glossy and assured". In 2017, Hasler founded the UK based independent film company, Relsah Films, through which his subsequent films have been produced. Following ''WWII: The Long Road Home'', Hasler made a series of short films, including ''To Hunt a Tiger'', which was shot in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

at the same locations as

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

's ''

The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, the pl ...

.'' The film premiered in July 2019 at Soneva Jani's over-water cinema in the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. In August 2019, production began on ''

'', written and directed by Hasler, which centres on the story of swimmer

and her 1927 English Channel swim, starring

Kirsten Callaghan Kirsten Sarah Callaghan (born 7 June 1991) is a British-Irish actress, writer, producer and singer-songwriter. Callaghan is best known for her lead role as swimmer Mercedes Gleitze in the upcoming biopic ''Vindication Swim''. Career Callaghan ...

as Gleitze. To capture the swimming sequences as realistically as possible, Hasler insisted everything was shot on the English Channel itself. Speaking to ITV News, Hasler stated "Everything you see out at sea, is in the English Channel. There's no tanks, no blue screens, this is all for real. And Kirsten Callaghan, who plays Mercedes, is in the water doing all of her own stunts. There are no body doubles, there is no fakery at all." Hasler spoke of the immense challenges involved in basing a production out on the English Channel with the

BBC's #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Ben Brown, recalling "being in the water with the camera" trying to film Callaghan's performance.

Personal life

Hasler was born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England. He is of Italian descent on his father's side and studied history at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasler, Elliott English film directors English screenwriters People from Brighton 2000 births Living people