High up in the West Yorkshire moors is Gaddings Dam, home to England’s highest beach, at a dizzying 780 metres above sea level. Saved from being drained in 2001 by a determined group of locals, the increasing appetite for wild swimming and cold water therapy has found it more popular than ever, magnetising folk from all walks of life to take in the transformative waters.
Wildwater, directed by Ben Davis, meets this close-knit community of obsessives, discovering what has drawn them to this bleak but strangely beautiful spot. Among the official selection at the Toronto Documentary Feature and Short Film Festival, director Davis and producer Pete Jenkinson will host a screening and a Q&A at Heaton Moor’s fabulous Savoy cinema.