Browse films

Swamp Lion

Torben Bech
United States, 2022, 111 min.

In English.
Includes violence, nudity, sexual content and adult language.

AIFF Award Winner:
Best Dramatic Feature,
Special Jury Award for Best Performance

After their son is diagnosed with advanced cancer, a trucker driver and supermarket cashier, Jim and Bee, struggle to climb the mountain of medical bills. In their greatest hour of need they are forced to come up with $ 250,000 in order to afford treatment. In this emotional and financial crisis, Jim ultimately decides to traffic drugs across the US/Mexican border. All sense of morality is thrown out of the window, as Jim does whatever it takes to save his only son. This film explores how far a family will go to save their child and the moral decay that follows love and sacrifice.

Director's Statement

My eldest son got sick when he was a baby. For a year I couldn’t work because of it. We were broke. And we didn’t care as long as he got better. Going through the whole hospital system, it became obvious how the system is for some but not for all. We were lucky, but I saw how desperate the situation can be if your child is in danger, and you can’t get the help you need. That’s how this film came about. The father in Swamp Lion deals with his own fear of losing his son, while desperately trying to save him. He experiences the beauty of life while at the same time facing the Grim Reaper. Everything he believes in is questioned, everything he normally wouldn’t do, he’ll do. He’s slowly erased in order to protect his loved ones.

Category: Drama.