Nyad

What’s it about?

Athlete Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) sets out at 60 to achieve a nearly impossible lifelong dream: to swim from Cuba to Florida across more than 100 miles of open ocean.

The facts

• Directors: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin (Free Solo)
• English language with some French and Spanish
• Runtime: 121 minutes
• Based on Diana Nyad’s memoir Find a Way: The Inspiring Story of One Woman’s Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream.
• 2024 Oscar Nominee

Why did it get this rating?

This film was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.

Child sex abuse themes

In the film, Nyad continues to have flashbacks to when she was young and becoming a competitive swimmer. It is during these flashbacks that we see the events and grooming that lead up to her being sexually abused by her swim coach. We don’t see graphic detail but older viewers will understand what is happening in the flashbacks. Diana talks to her best friend about how the abuse has impacted her long-term. The sequences may be upsetting for someone impacted by sexual abuse.

Offensive language

Strong language is used occasionally for emphasis in conversation, such as “a***hole”, “what the hell”, and “cut the sh*t”. “Sh*t” is the most used swear word.

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• The deeper story behind Netflix’s Nyad (Time.com)
• ‘Nyad’ gets its visceral power thanks to underwater chemistry between Annette Bening and the cinematographer (Indiewire)
• Why Netflix’s Nyad has stirred an ongoing controversy (Digital Spy)