Annette Bening and Jodie Foster Are Best Friends with a Goal in Trailer for True Story ‘Nyad’ (Exclusive)

Annette Bening brings an inspiring true story to the big screen.

On Thursday, Netflix debuted the first trailer for Nyad exclusively with PEOPLE, featuring Bening as marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, who decides to finish the swim between the coasts of Florida and Cuba.

The film also stars Jodie Foster as Diana’s friend and trainer Bonnie Stoll, and Rhys Ifans, Ethan Jones Romero, Luke Cosgrove, Jeena Yi and Eric T. Miller. The synopsis from Netflix describes Nyad as “an extraordinary true story of perseverance, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit”.

Nyad directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the filmmakers behind the 2018 Oscar-winning climbing documentary. Free Solo.

Vasarhelyi tells PEOPLE they “couldn’t believe” they were working with “two of the best actresses of their generation,” Bening, 65, and Foster, 60, on their feature debut.

“Annette was always the one for the role of Diana and was fearless in putting in the work to embody that character,” says Vasarhelyi. “She trained for over a year to be a good swimmer and I remember when she did her first stroke in front of the camera, the whole team was holding their breath with excitement.”

Chin adds that during production, Bening was in a water tank “for hours at a time, and she even had a couple of stunt doubles that we barely used.”

PEOPLE’s Fall 2023 Movie Preview: From ‘The Marvels’ to Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras ​​Tour’

Annette Bening in “Nyad”.

Liz Parkinson/Netflix

“She worked with this amazing Olympic swimmer, Rada Owen, to really perfect her movements in the water and build her physique,” says Chin. “As Diana progressed in swimming within the film, Annette even began to change her stroke to show exhaustion on screen. She was so physically connected to the character’s mindset, and she still swims today.”

In the center of the film is Nyad, a sports journalist who retired from marathon swimming. At age 60, she “becomes obsessed with completing the epic swim that has always eluded her: the 110-mile course from Cuba to Florida, often called the ‘Mount Everest of swimming,'” according to the synopsis.

She is “determined to become the first person to complete the swim without a shark cage” and is “going on an exciting four-year journey with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll and a dedicated sailing team.”

Annette Bening in “Nyad”.

Liz Parkinson/Netflix

Vasarhelyi and Chin “have always chosen projects that focus on individuals who push boundaries and find the strength within themselves to do extraordinary things,” says Vasarhelyi, who noted that “it’s so rare that a film centers around a strong female character like Diana Nyad.”

“Diana is an inexorably driven, capable and complex character with this audacious dream. And Bonnie Stoll, her friend and coach, is also not to be underestimated,” says Vasarhelyi. “The idea that I could explore the connection between these two incredible women, who refused to believe that it was too late in their lives to achieve this incredible thing, felt special and important.”

Jodie Foster and Annette Bening in “Nyad”.

Kimberley French/Netflix

And Chin adds, “Diana had incredible drive and vision, but none of it would have been possible without Bonnie and the commitment they had to each other to make this swim happen. The film also has so many joyful moments. And if we can also inspire the audience to follow his dreams and try something new, we as filmmakers have done our job.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in “Nyad”.

Kimberley French/Netflix

Nyad first gained national attention in 1975 at the age of 25 for swimming around the entirety of Manhattan, New York, according to The New York Times.

She then attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida in 1978 using a cage designed to keep sharks away, but abandoned the idea after completing a separate swim from the Bahamas to Florida instead and began a career in television and sports media.

Netflix

Finally, Nyad completed her swim from Cuba to Florida in 2013 after a total of five attempts.

The Associated Press noted in 2015 that some in the marathon swimming community questioned Nyada’s accounting of her accomplishments over the years. While talking to vanity fair of the new film, Chin noted that the production team’s own investigation into those criticisms “found them to be invalid.”

Julia Cox wrote the screenplay for the film, based on Nyad’s memoir Find a way.

Nyad is in select theaters on October 20 and streaming on Netflix on November 3.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education