Light In The Water chronicles the birth and life of West Hollywood Aquatics, the first openly gay masters swim team. From the team's founding to train for the inaugural Gay Olympic Games in 1982, through AIDS epidemic, to the wedding of two members after marriage equality passed, the team is another lens through which to study LGBTQ history in America. Through archival footage and intimate interviews with members of the team, some of whom are record setting swimmers, Light in the Water celebrates athletes that happen to be gay. Constantly returning to the theme of water, the movie examines how both joy and sorrow strengthened the team in ways that neither could do alone.
Director Lis Bartlett has long been captivated by true stories. Starting in middle school Lis recreated historic events through video for classroom projects. While pursuing degrees in Media Studies and Performing Arts and Social Justice at USF, she spent her summers cultivating her passion through Project Moonshine, a Nevada non-profit, teaching filmmaking skills to high school students by documenting important events in their communities. Working for Indie DocFest in San Francisco helped develop her documentary taste. Out of college she created her first show, “Know Your City Employee,” for the City of Reno that profiled employees in their personal and professional lives. She was retained by Specialty Health to create what became a feature documentary, “Survival for Firefighters,” that followed Reno public safety professionals in a health and wellness program based upon groundbreaking science used for determining cardiac risk. Lis has developed her filmmaking skills in Los Angeles by working in the editorial department of numerous projects, including Kobe Bryant’s Showtime documentary MUSE; and most recently as editor for two episodes of “The Pitch” for Audience Network. LIGHT IN THE WATER is her first feature documentary. Lis chooses her stories carefully and is happiest when she can immerse herself in projects that illuminate new or unseen perspectives, giving people a voice through the art and medium of storytelling.
