Annette Bening, Jodie Foster Star In Biopic On Lesbian Swimmer Diana Nyad

Annette Bening, Jodie Foster Star In Biopic On Lesbian Swimmer Diana Nyad
Image: Annette Bening and Jodie Foster star in the upcoming swim biopic ‘Nyad’ on Netflix. 

Annette Bening and Jodie Foster are starring in an upcoming swim biopic called ‘Nyad’ on Netflix. 

The actresses star in ‘Nyad’, a biographical drama that chronicles the journey of lesbian marathon swimmer Diana Nyad. At 64, Nyad sets out to accomplish a lifelong dream: the challenge of swimming from Cuba to Florida without the protection of a shark cage.

 Adapted from Diana Nyad’s acclaimed best-selling autobiography, “Find a Way,” this biographical film recounts the remarkable journey of the long-distance swimmer who took on the challenge of swimming approximately 160 kilometres. 

Always The One

In 1978, at the age of 28, Nyad was unable to finish her first attempt. Despite her retiring from the endurance sport three decades prior to taking up a career as a sports journalist, her determination to conquer this challenge was fuelled by her ambition to become the first person to complete the swim without the protection of a shark cage.

Bening takes on the role of Nyad while Foster portrays training partner Bonnie Stoll, and Rhys Ifans performs as the swimmer’s trainer, John Bartlett.

Bening dedicated a full year to rigorous training, preparing herself for the physical demands of the role. Nyad’s co-director, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi told Vanity Fair that the film’s story “defies the frontiers of what you can imagine”. 

“Annette was always the one. It was really important that we could find someone to do the work and do the training, and it was very much a dialogue between us before she accepted the role, Vasarhelyi told Tudum

Bening spoke about the film, stating: “This film asks: What do we give ourselves permission to do in our lives? Diana said, ‘I’m actually going to ignore all of these norms about what women in their 60s do’”. 

‘I Was Gay From Day One’

Vasarhelyi and her husband, Jimmy Chin, co-directed Nyad, marking their directorial debut in narrative filmmaking. Winning the ‘Best Documentary Feature’ Oscar for their 2018 documentary “Free Solo,” the documentarians spoke to Vanity Fair about their fascination with depicting bold narratives.

“We love telling these stories where somebody’s pushing the edge of the human experience. We hope when audiences leave the theatre, they feel like they’ve gotten an expanded perspective of the human experience”, professional mountain athlete Chin said. 

Nyad is known for her swimming career and has set numerous records including breaking the men’s and women’s world record for open water distance swimming from Bimini to Florida which covered 164 kilometres (102 miles). The 1979 swim took her 27.5 hours. 

Though the athlete hasn’t spoken about her sexuality in public often, she told Out Magazine that when she was younger she “just knew” that she didn’t want to be with men. “I think I was gay from day one”, Nyad said in a 2012 interview with the publication. 

Nyad will be available to stream on Netflix on November 3. 

 

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