Martin Strel is not an athlete. He is a fifty-plus, big bellied Slovenian man who consumes two bottles of wine a day and eats horse burgers. He’s also an endurance swimmer, conquering the world’s largest rivers – the Mississippi, the Danube and the Yangtze – to draw attention to environmental issues. Journeying with his English speaking son Borut and director John Maringouin, he sets out to swim the Amazon, facing obstacles including carnivorous fish, rapids and toxic water pollution.
Big River Man is a character study filled with humour, an edge-of-your-seat thrilling adventure and an awareness raising environmental documentary that delivers on all fronts. It screens in UK cinemas from 4 September 2009.
View trailer (1m 47s, flashplayer required to view)