Elliott Hasler

Elliott Simon Hasler (born 29 July 2000) is an English film director and screenwriter. Hasler is best known for the biopic Vindication Swim, which centres around the story of Mercedes Gleitze and her attempt to become the first British woman to swim the English Channel.[1][2]

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.[3][4] 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 in Italy during World War II and was completed in 2017, when Hasler was 16 years old.[5][6][7][8] 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".[9][10][11][12]

In 2017, Hasler founded the UK based independent film company, Relsah Films, through which his subsequent films have been produced.[13]

Following WWII: The Long Road Home, Hasler made a series of short films, including To Hunt a Tiger, which was shot in Sri Lanka at the same locations as David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai. The film premiered in July 2019 at Soneva Jani's over-water cinema in the Maldives.[14]

In August 2019, production began on Vindication Swim, written and directed by Hasler, which centres on the story of swimmer Mercedes Gleitze and her 1927 English Channel swim, starring Kirsten Callaghan as Gleitze.[2][15][16] 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."[17] Hasler spoke of the immense challenges involved in basing a production out on the English Channel with the BBC's Ben Brown, recalling "being in the water with the camera" trying to film Callaghan's performance.[18]

Personal life

Hasler was born in Brighton, England. He is of Italian descent on his father's side and studied history at Exeter University.[19]

Filmography
Year Film Director Writer Notes
2019 WWII: The Long Road Home Yes Yes Also actor
2019 To Hunt a Tiger Yes Yes Short film
2019 Nootau Yes Yes Short film
TBC Vindication Swim (post-production) Yes Yes

References
  1. "Filmmaker asks public to help him tell the story of forgotten historical figure". The Argus. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  2. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2020-11-02). "Victoria Summer Dives Into Indie Biopic 'Vindication Swim' From Director Elliott Hasler". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  3. Hasler, Elliott (2020-10-05). "Becoming a Self Taught Filmmaker at Age Sixteen". Raindance. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  4. ""I never went to film school or anything like that, so watching films was my film school..." - hmv.com talks to Elliott Hasler". HMV. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  5. Hasler, Elliott (2019-08-01). "What it's Like to be the UK's Youngest Film Director". Raindance. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  6. "Emerging filmmaking talent Elliott Hasler discusses biopic WWII - The Long Road Home". British Cinematographer. 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  7. "Britain's youngest director releases film on WWII Hampshire Regiment based on his great-grandfather's experiences". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  8. "WORLD WAR II: THE LONG ROAD HOME The Feature Debut of Britain's Youngest Director Arrives October 26 On DVD and Digital". The Fan Carpet. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  9. Fuller, Graham. "A 17-Year-Old Brit Might Be the Next Steven Spielberg". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  10. "WWII: THE LONG ROAD HOME Arrives on Digital, VOD and DVD March 2nd". We Are Movie Geeks. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  11. "Why this 19-year-old is being called 'the next Spielberg'". Amateur Photographer. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  12. Walker, Tim (2020-10-08). "MANDRAKE: Former Today editor takes on Andrew Neil". The New European. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  13. "RelsahFilms – By Director Elliott Hasler". Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  14. Choi, Lee Hill (28 June 2019). "Why 'the next Spielberg' – the UK's youngest film director, Elliott Hasler – is screening his films at Soneva Jani in the Maldives". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  15. "The untold story of a British swimming icon". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  16. Yossman, K. J. (2022-01-28). "Elliott Hasler's 'Vindication Swim' Biopic Casts Douglas Hodge, James Wilby (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  17. "Blue plaque unveiled to honour the first British woman to swim the Channel". ITV News. 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  18. BBC News Vindication Swim Report - Interview with Kirsten Callaghan and dir. Elliott Hasler, retrieved 2022-01-26
  19. "University of Exeter". www.exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
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