We are thrilled to announce that the HIFF31 Opening Night Film on Thursday, October 5, will be the East Coast Premiere of NYAD, based on the remarkable true story of American marathon swimmer Diana Nyad.
Starring four-time Academy Award® nominee Annette Bening and two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster, NYAD marks the narrative feature directorial debut of Academy Award-winning filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (FREE SOLO, THE RESCUE [HIFF 2021]).
Annette Bening as Diana Nyad in NYAD. Liz Parkinson/Netflix ©2023
Opening Night Film: NYAD
East Coast Premiere
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Dirs: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
USA | 2023
Opening Night sponsored by
By 2010, Diana Nyad (four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening) had long been a singular success, breaking records and becoming a national sensation 35 years earlier with notable swims around Manhattan and from the Bahamas to Florida before enjoying a prominent career as a sports journalist. But after three decades away from the water, the former marathon swimmer finds herself consumed with completing the excursion that had always eluded her: the 53-hour, 110-mile trek from Cuba to Florida popularly known as the “Mount Everest” of swims.
Together with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster), the sixty-year-old Diana begins what would become a harrowing four-year journey of intense training amongst unpredictable setbacks. Determined to become the first person to complete the swim without a shark cage for protection, Diana works with Bonnie to recruit a dedicated team that navigates the dangerous open ocean, unrelenting weather, and emotional obstacles that threaten to derail a lifelong dream.
A moving testament to the power of will, friendship, and the glory of teamwork, NYAD also stars Rhys Ifans; the film is produced by Andrew Lazar, p.g.a. and Teddy Schwarzman, p.g.a. with a screenplay by Julia Cox, adapted from the book Find a Way by Diana Nyad. A Netflix release.
“Vasarhelyi and Chin are two of this generation’s most compelling storytellers, and NYAD is further proof that their creativity and eye for filmmaking knows no bounds,” said HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent. “We are thrilled to share their story with our audiences.”
Passes and packages for the HIFF31 go on sale September 5. A HamptonsFilm Members pre-sale for individual tickets begins September 23, with individual tickets to the general public on sale September 25. Join today for early ticket access.
The 31st annual Hamptons International Film Festival will take place October 5-12, 2023. HIFF thanks the supporters for this year’s festival, including returning Premiere Sponsor Audi; Signature Sponsors Macallan and Variety; Supporting Sponsors Naturopathica, Dragon Hemp, Netflix, Silvercup, and Regal Cinemas; as well as official Media Sponsors WNBC, The East Hampton Star, The Purist, and new Signature Sponsor The Atlantic; and long term support from New York State Council on the Arts, and Suffolk County Film Commission.
