Is there any sub-genre better than Disney live-action films based on inspirational sportspeople?
As someone who grew up regular yelling ‘strong side’ at their sister because of Remember the Titans, I would argue no.
A new film added to Disney+, however, fits into that category to a tee.
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Not only is it an inspirational true story, it’s a genuine miracle this isn’t something we are all taught in schools.
This is a sentiment shared by the director who, in an exclusive interview with UNILAD, told us how ‘shocked’ he was that this story wasn’t wider known when he came across it. Check out the trailer:
The film in question is Young Woman and the Sea, starring Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle.
Ederle was a real-life long-distance swimmer, and only the sixth person to ever swim the English channel, and the first woman.
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Not only did Ederle break through that barrier, she smashed the record in the process, beating the record set by a man by two whole hours.
We spoke to director Joachim Ronning, where we asked him about the film, and discovering the story of Trudy.
When asked about his reaction to coming across the story of Trudy he said: “It baffled me that I didn’t know it, that I didn’t know her story. It was such a world event when it happened and probably changed women’s sports forever in many ways.
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“It was a story that has everything I look for when I make a film. It’s obviously dramatic but it had such a big heart. It was funny, it was scary, it was moving, and it was very inspirational.”
“That was a story I wanted to tell to my daughters, and to a modern audience.”
The film features a ticker-tape parade through New York City on Trudy’s return, which shows archival footage proving how massive an event it was.
The parade is the biggest in New York history.
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Ronning said of this detail: “That’s part of the sad reality that her story has been forgotten in time. I was so happy when I found the footage of the parade, the real footage of the parade.
“You can see, we weren’t exaggerating in the film.”
In our chat with star Daisy Ridley, she said she believes that the story should be taught in schools.
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She said: “Having spoken to people in America, the question is: ‘How is this not taught in schools?’ Even things like, Meg her sister created the first bikini, it's in a museum in the US.
“It’s one of those. It's just odd. I don't know that we'll ever really get an answer as to why. But it does feel amazing that 100 years on here we are talking about.”
Just like Remember the Titans did for Herman Boone and T.C. Williams High School, Young Woman and the Sea will immortalise the story of Trudy Ederle.
Young Woman and the Sea is available on Disney+ now.
Topics: Disney, Film and TV
Michael Slavin