Michele Kupfer talks about her new documentary 'Parting the Waters'\” />

Athlete Michele Kupfer chatted about her new documentary “Parting the Waters.”

This is a feature-length documentary about trauma, hope, and courage.

How did the documentary “Parting the Waters” come about?

Before I was a filmmaker, I was a behavioral therapist and educator, specializing in the psycho-social issues adolescents and young adults face with chronic illness. I was frustrated not just as a provider but as a mother of a child who had a brain tumor.

I teamed up with my good friend, Lisa Hedley, we were known as the dream team, I had all the contacts in medicine and psychology and Lisa, who was connected to HBO had all the experience and connections in the film world.

In 2001, Lisa produced the Emmy-nominated documentary film “Dwarfs, Not a Fairy Tale,” probably one of the first films to really explore the lives of individuals with dwarfism, challenging common stereotypes and misconceptions.

In 2012, Lisa and I created Difference Diaries, short videos of the phyco-social issues young people with special needs face with respect to their desire for social acceptance and independence.

We had a lot of success with educational institutions and drug companies. However, when COVID hit and everything came to a stop, I was hooked on filmmaking but was tired of dealing with chronic illness professionally and extremely tired and frustrated dealing with our son. I wanted to explore different ideas and topics.

I was a member of the 1980 Israeli Olympic swim team, during COVID my best swimming mate was dying of colon cancer at the age of 53.

Our whole team was trying to keep Lior motivated, to keep fitting. One day I blurted out, we should get our team back together after 40 years and swim in the 2022 Maccabiah Games.

Our team in Israel was special, we were good, making a mark all around the world, when the Olympics were cancelled in 1980 due to political reasons, it was completely devastating, we all thought that our swimming careers were over.

We refocused to swim in the 1981 Maccabiah Games to show the world just how good we are. The more I thought about our story, the more I thought we have a great idea for a documentary.

I then realized that I had to get back in the pool and in fighting shape, I had no idea how competitive master swimmer was.

What motivates you each day as an athlete?

I grew up in a family of four children, I was the middle child, my sisters between me were great students, I was not. I had learning issues, a lot of energy and seemed different from my sisters and my little brother.

A very frustrating time for my family. The best advice they were given was to get me into a sport. I was a very good athlete even as a young child, growing up in Florida swimming was my favorite and I was good at it.

Swimming has always been there when I needed it. It gave me purpose, it allowed me to stand out and be good at something that my sisters were not, it allowed me to build confidence and it gave me purpose to keep pushing through difficult times. I swim not only for my physical well-being but my medical health.

My entire body relaxes when I am in the pool, I get my best ideas when swimming and I find the confidence that maybe I can achieve my goals that I have out of the pool as well.

What did this film teach you about yourself?

Parting The Waters really saved my life, I was feeling overwhelmed with our son, who was struggling as a young adult with a chronic illness the idea of losing my best friend, and feeling isolated as COVID kept us all in our own heads.

Working on this film not only gave me purpose but it taught me about survival, that no matter how dark things get, no matter how impossible it feels to move forward, I always possess the spark within me to keep going.

Congrats on all the accolades and recognition it has received… how does that feel?

Finishing our documentary was the first sign of an incredible achievement. I was very lucky to have an amazing team.

Austin Kase as our producer who has worked with us since his student days at Yale, now a successful producer, filmmaker, actor in LA.

Our co-directors and editors Marc Levy and Marc Salomon (The Marcs) really brought our film to the level we needed. Their artistic and creative ability with the camera and with me as their subject changed everything.

Marc Levy was able to get me to open up old wounds and revisit past trauma, all while training to swim in an elite competition after leaving the sport for forty years. The cinematography under the water and out is truly breathtaking.

Lisa Hedley knows me so well that her support was priceless. I was also incredibly lucky to have my husband, Gary, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist not only support our film but has a creative soul which helped us not only come up with the name but insert ideas the rest of us didn’t see.

When we started our film festival journey at the prestigious Rhode Island International Film Festival in August 2025 and won 1st Prize for Best Documentary, it was almost an out of body experience.

Making a documentary where you expose yourself, your hope is that the audience will feel something within themselves that they see on the screen.

My hope was just that, whomever watches our film can feel that they have the spark within themselves to keep going.

How does it feel to be a part of the digital age?

The world today moves at such a fast pace, we all crave instant gratification. The digital age is a constant state of connection and information that is at our finger tips.

I run a hundred miles an hour so I love the fact that I can get whatever information, question answered or be in touch with someone in a flash. I love the digital age.

What do your plans for the future include with this documentary?

We are very excited for the future of Parting the Water, we hope to have a successful run at film festivals, and hopefully sell it Parting the Waters to a streaming platform so we can share our story with the world.

We all have our own personal stories that are important and worthy, we hope that “Parting the Waters” will resonate with everyone, whether you are into sports, a sibling, parent, gone through difficult time, or just need some motivation that it is never too late to make a difference.

What does the word success mean to you? (My favorite question)

Success, what a powerful word. I think that success is a very personal feeling and different for everyone.

We live in a world that seems to have specific ideas of what success means, I have always tried, not always with the result I wanted, to find my success in small ways.

Finishing a race, doing something nice to others, trying to be a good wife, parent, sister, friend. Success for me is the small things, the kind words that can change someone’s entire day.

I guess success for me is to be kind, accept others and be appreciative of what we have.

What would you like to tell our readers about the film “Parting the Waters”? (What’s the one thing you want them to get out of it)

Parting the Waters is a film that follows me, a member of the 1980 Israeli Olympic swim team, as I set out – four decades later – to reunite with my teammates and compete in the 2022 Maccabiah Games.

Once a rising star who came of age in the pool during the 1981 Games, I return in the wake of personal loss, seeking healing, connection, and a second act.

As the film traces my journey from elite athlete to masters swimmer, it also dives into the larger story of Jewish identity, resilience, and community, and shows that it’s never too late to find your light.

To learn more about “Parting the Waters,” visit its official homepage, and follow its Instagram page.