NYAD, the film about Diana Nyad’s 110-mile solo swim from Cuba to Florida, starts streaming on Netflix on Friday, November 3rd after a theatrical release from coast to coast.
The Academy Award, BAFTA, and Emmy Award winning husband-and-wife team of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (of Free Solo) directed Nyad that filmed much of its ocean scenes in a water tank in the Dominican Republic.
Four-time Academy Award-nominated Annette Bening portrays Diana Nyad who endured four disappointing failures en route to her 52 hour 54 minute success. Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster portrays Bonnie Stoll, her friend and trainer who alternates between pleading with and cheering on Diana through smiles and tears.
Rhys Ifans (shown below on the right plotting with Annette and Jodie) portrays John Bartlett (shown in real life below on the left with Bonnie). The brilliant navigator shouldered the responsibility of safely guiding Diana through impassible currents, angry seas, and ever-changing conditions and weather patterns.
The trio in real life – Diana, Bonnie, and John – were a profoundly powerful team, each bringing special talents and strengths to this partnership that hinged on a dream by a 64-year-old. Each person – the swimmer, the trainer, and the navigator – played a vitally important role in Nyad’s crossing on September 2nd 2013 with the help of an on-the-water escort team of 40 and many others assisting on land.
Based on her 304-page memoir Find a Way, NYAD recreates Nyad’s earlier life from her age group swimming career, her media appearances in her 20’s, and her motivations and preparations in her early 60’s.
The film is described by The New York Times Book Review as “Life-affirming…a story about refusing to accept, or be defined by, defeat.”
NYAD The Movie webinars will be hosted by Steven Munatones at 6 pm PST / 9 pm EST starting on November 4th – the day the movie after starts to stream on Netflix.
Register to participate in these free daily webinars here.
The movie brings to life the story of Nyad in her preparations for the actual swim and 4 earlier failures – not surprising considering that the two directors are famous for their documentary filmmaking. The webinars will share the backstories of the actual attempts and final crossing.
During the webinars, participants can ask questions about anything they saw in the movie including:
- the painful box jellyfish stings that she endured
- the development of the box jellyfish ointment created by Dr. Angel Yanagihara
- development of the face mask by Aesthetic Prosthetics that Diana wore on her last swim
- the development of the stinger suit by FINIS that Diana wore after getting stung on her 2011 attempt
- the pool, ocean, and dryland training regimen that Diana pushed herself to complete
- the shark protocol developed by Luke Tipple and executed by a team of shark divers
- the members of the 40-person escort team from emergency room physicians to scientists
- the frustrations and meticulous brilliance of mariner John Bartlett
- the navigational challenges and inherent uncertainty of the Gulf Stream
- the dynamic dryland and in-water relationship onboard between Diana and Bonnie
- the escort kayaker and support team shifts and logistics
- the tropical storms that she faced on her failed attempts
- the shark encounter that shark diver Jonathan Rose dramatically had
- the stoic escort piloting of Dee Brady
- the development of the swim streamer
- discussing the probability of success and failure on each attempt
“I was fortunate to be on Diana’s failed crossings,” said Munatones. “She went through so much over those years: failure, doubt, endless training, storms, box jellyfish, uncooperative weather and conditions. But in the end, she found a way. It was not easy and it certainly was not inexpensive. But she ultimately saw her dream to fulfillment and got the job done. Frankly, I was nervous to see the result of Chai and Jimmy Chin working with Annette Bening, Jodie Foster and Rhys Ifans to depict the story of Diana’s swim and the relationship between these three powerful personalities. But, at the end, I loved watching the result of their work and am so happy a movie was made about Diana and the incredible sport of marathon swimming.
It is a pleasure to describe my personal interactions and experiences with Diana, Bonnie, John, Angel, Luke, Dee (the pilot), Jon Rose, and the rest of the Xtreme Dream team. If I can help moviegoers better understand and appreciate the sport of marathon swimming, and explain in part what Diana and her team accomplished, then that sharing will bring me joy.
For what Diana did from Cuba to Florida is replicated in innumerable ways around the world by many others – both young and old, able-bodied and disabled – who venture beyond the shoreline. Each and every one of these marathon swimmers has a remarkable backstory. Other swimmers may understand the trials and training that they put themselves through, but non-marathon swimmers do not. I love to share their challenges and how they similarly overcome obstacles from marine life to turbulent seas.”
For more information on IMDb, visit here. For more information on Netflix, visit here.
Register to participate in these free daily webinars here.
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