Public Pool

Elizabeth Lo

US, UK | 2025 | 13 min

Credits:

Directing: Elizabeth Lo

Cinematography: Elizabeth Lo

Editing: Elizabeth Lo

Sound Design: Dan Olmsted

Music: Ali Helnwein

Production: Elemental /  Mike Paterson & Heidi Fleisher

Synopsys:

In the United States, swimming pools have long been contested sites of privilege, class, and race — serving as both paradisiacal symbols of wealth and American excess and as reprieves from the ever-increasing heat for the urban poor. This simple, observational portrait of one of the few remaining public swimming pools in the heart of Los Angeles becomes a visual celebration of public spaces as well as a meditation on family and the luxury of leisure.

Festivals and Awards:

• CPH:DOX – Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, Denmark ( 2025)
• Elemental Showcase
• Vienna Shorts, Austria (2025)
• Out of Competition