Frida Kempff’s The Swedish Torpedo tells the forgotten story of Sally Bauer, the first Scandinavian to swim across the English Channel in 1939. Despite this groundbreaking achievement, Bauer never became a household name. After digging deeper, Kempff found Bauer’s personal reflections from the year before her swim in a small regional library, inspiring her to bring Bauer’s story to life.

Kempff, speaking on the Nordic Film Talks podcast, shared her motivation: “I felt I should drag her into the spotlight and celebrate what she did.”

The Swedish Torpedo, premiering on Sept. 12 at the Toronto International Film Festival, is not a typical biopic. Kempff and co-writer Marietta von Hausswolff von Baumgarten chose an artistic approach, focusing on Bauer as a 30-year-old single mother pursuing her dream of swimming the Channel. 

Kempff, who has a documentary background, worked closely with Bauer’s descendants to ensure the film’s authenticity. The movie was shot in Estonia to capture the period’s aesthetic, and Kempff wanted her actress, Josefin Neldén, to experience the real conditions Bauer faced, including the cold and harsh winds of the sea.


Nordic Film Talks is a podcast offering in-depth interviews with filmmakers and other
creatives from the Nordic countries, offering insight into their latest films or TV series.

The series is hosted by Nordic film expert Wendy Mitchell, a journalist and film festival
consultant, and presented by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond.


Host: Wendy Mitchell, filmwendy.com
Presenting partner: Nordisk Film & TV Fond, https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/
Audio producer: Karoline Balstrøm
Logo designed by: Tine Seerup
Music artist: Bail Bonds 
Title: Swimming Lessons