Netflix's upcoming biopic Nyad has a trailer. Adapted from Diana Nyad’s memoir, Find a Way, the film from writer Julia Cox and directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin begins with Nyad in her early 60s ahead of her 2011 Cuba to Florida swim.
An endurance swimmer, Nyad (played by Annette Bening) arrived in Key West, Fla., to cheers and rainbow flags on September 2, 2013, having finally fulfilled her dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark tank at age 64 and after three incomplete attempts. Throughout the 110-mile feat, Nyad's friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll (played by Jodie Foster), was at her side, cheering her on, guiding her, staving off jellyfish, and monitoring her nutrition.
Nyad chronicles the titular character’s decision to fulfill her dream of finishing the Cuba-to-Florida swim, although she said at the time that she “hadn't swum a stroke for 31 years.” The big swim, replete with vicious storms, jellyfish, and sharks, is at the movie's core, but there's also a story of deep friendship between Nyad and Stoll, queer women who are chosen family.
"A remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit, NYAD recounts a riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana (four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening) becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her: the 110 mile trek from Cuba to Florida, often referred to as the “Mount Everest” of swims. Determined to become the first person to finish the swim without a shark cage, Diana goes on a thrilling, four-year journey with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster) and a dedicated sailing team," the official description reads
An ally to the LGBTQ+ community and the mother to a trans son, Bening played a lesbian opposite Julianne Moore in Lisa Cholodenko’s 2010 film, The Kids Are All Right. A Best Actress Oscar winner for 1988’s The Accused and 1991’s The Silence of The Lambs, Foster came out publicly at the Golden Globe Awards in 2013. Foster previously played a queer character in 1984’s Hotel New Hampshire.
Nyad premieres in theaters on October 20 and on Netflix November 3.
Check out the tailer for Nyad below. All images courtesy of Netflix.
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