The film follows the story of legendary long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY NETFLIX
No, this is not a drill. Annette Bening and Jodie Foster are starring in a film about the life of legendary LGBTQIA swimmer Diana Nyad. The film follows Nyad’s memoir Find A Way which recounts how she swam the 110-mile ocean marathon from Cuba to Florida at the age of 60.
In a film about all about physical endurance, Annette was faced with a mammoth challenge: learning how to swim like Diana Nyad. “She wouldn’t take the role unless she was prepared to do the work,” the film’s co-director, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, told Vanity Fair. “That was daunting to her. She knew herself that she would have to learn to swim that way—and she wasn’t necessarily the best swimmer.”
Alongside Annette, Jodie Foster takes on the role of Diana’s coach: Bonnie Stoll. Both Diana and Bonnie were openly out as lesbians at the time, making LGBTQIA icon Jodie Foster a perfect fit.
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi said: “Jodie brought her point of view as a queer woman in her 60s, and it was very helpful.”
It’s not too often you see a film about two older lesbians trying to tackle one of the hardest physical tests known to mankind. For Annette, that’s part of its beauty.
“This film asks: What do we give ourselves permission to do in our lives?” Annette said to Vanity Fair. “Diana said, ‘I’m actually going to ignore all of these norms about what women in their 60s do.’”
Nyad will be available to stream on Netflix on 3 November.
DIVA magazine celebrates 29 years in print in 2023. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
