Bethany Hamilton is a household name in the world of surfing. When she lost left her arm to a tiger shark in 2003, she gained worldwide recognition for her tenacity and determination to get back on a surfboard. Although she is often recognized as a shark-attack survivor, she is much more – a mother, wife, daughter, a friend and a world-class surfer. Through her upcoming film “Unstoppable,” we get a deeper look into Hamilton’s life and the details that make her an inspiring athlete. The film follows her setbacks, failures, triumphs, and everything in between.
Courtesy of Aaron Lieber Aaron Lieber gave ASN a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the film, and what it was like working with a living legend Bethany Hamilton. Where did the inspiration for this film come from? I was inspired to make this film by the previous films I’ve made with female surfers: “Leave A Message” and “Lakey Peterson: Zero to 100.” Initially, Bethany really impressed me with her world-class surfing abilities – the goal was to just make a powerful, short, performance-centric film. But as the film evolved, I knew I needed to tell a bigger story. I saw the potential to really push myself as a filmmaker and try to emulate filmmakers like Steve James (“Hoop Dreams”), Stacy Peralta (“Riding Giants,” “Dogtown and Z-Boys”), Bruce Brown (“The Endless Summer”), and Taylor Steele (“Momentum Generation”). How is this film different from “Soul Surfer” and why do you think it’s important that it features the real Bethany as opposed to Hollywood actors? “Soul Surfer” just scratched the surface of Bethany Hamilton as a full character and person, especially her surfing ability and capacity to overcome. So many “Soul Surfer” fans have told me they love “Unstoppable” because it’s the real Bethany. It was important to me to make this documentary to show Bethany as the woman she is today. “Unstoppable” goes deeper into her life journey becoming a woman, mother, wife, and features her skills as a world-class athlete. Additionally, the archive footage of her and her family takes the story to a deeper level that just can’t be replicated by Hollywood actors. It’s priceless and “Soul Surfer” fans are going to love the authentic and raw moments in “Unstoppable.”
Courtesy of Aaron Lieber How did you decide on the theme for this film? I think “unstoppable” is a great way to describe Bethany’s journey. The fears and doubts and all the different challenges she has faced have made her [literally] unstoppable. I also think it’s a great message for others – so many people of all ages are inspired by Bethany and what she represents. The hope for me with the title “Unstoppable” was to articulate not only what Bethany is, but what everyone else can also be. Everyone can be unstoppable in their journey if they choose to adapt to all the different challenges life throws at you.
Courtesy of Aaron Lieber What was the timeline for making the film? Initially, the project was going to take 6 to 9 months and be a 6- to 8-minute performance piece. When Bethany got pregnant we weren’t sure what was going to happen but after a few weeks Bethany decided what she wanted to do. She and her husband, Adam, made the decision to let me follow them and her pregnancy and life on a much longer timeline. It’s been six years now. Working on this project for so long taught me so much and has brought so much opportunity. It taught me that good things take time and it really taught me patience and to trust my intuition. When I premiered the film at Tribeca Film Festival in New York I got to meet a lot of other documentary directors and the shortest timeframe was three years to completion, but most of them were in the five- to eight-year range. One was even 10 years.
Courtesy of Aaron Lieber What was it like working on a film with so many moving parts? Documenting a surfer’s life is not easy because everything is dependent on swell conditions and the weather, and even other surfers. For example, we went to Bali to shoot twice. One day we took a 2-hour boat ride to Desert Point and the waves were terrible. So we then took a 2-hour boat ride back and that was the day.
Courtesy of Aaron Lieber That sort of thing would happen a lot. You try and fail, and then try again. You basically are always in a state of trying to predict the future and be ready to capture something you think might happen. It’s really exhausting mentally and at the same time, you don’t want to influence the main character in a positive or negative way so I found myself internalizing a lot of the stress. But overall I am really happy I did everything the way I did. I’m super proud of what we were able to accomplish with all of the obstacles. I also hired a few really talented people to help shoot along the way, and without them the film wouldn’t be what it is. The film touches on a lot of Bethany’s setbacks along the way as opposed to just her successes. Why was that a focus? I think it is important to show Bethany’s setbacks because that’s real life. If her story didn’t have setbacks it wouldn’t be interesting. A story that follows a hero’s journey arch has pivotal moments of failure and success, and those moments are what we can all relate to. I also like to call Bethany a super hero, but she’s human and she does have setbacks. But how she handles those setbacks is what makes her unique. She’s always using her mind to adapt and overcome. I think those lessons are so important to remind everyone that life isn’t always what you see on Instagram; it’s not always perfect. Everyone has challenges and everyone can overcome and be unstoppable if they should choose to use their mind, adapt and really push themselves to be the best they can be.
Courtesy of Aaron LIeber Is there a particular moment from filming that sticks out to you? Bethany wanting to surf Peahi (a.k.a. Jaws), is the moment that sticks out in my brain. The way she casually approached surfing a 50-foot wave and the way she rode the wave blew my mind. And the whole time while she was surfing Jaws she had the biggest smile – that’s just not a normal person. I don’t think I’ve seen a photo of any other surfer smiling while surfing Jaws. I also think it’s easy to overlook that she’s doing all this with one arm, while being a new mother. It’s unprecedented.
Courtesy of Aaron Lieber What do you hope people take away from the film? I hope people recognize Bethany for more than the “survivor” of a shark attack and as the world-class, super-hero athlete she is. I also hope young boys and girls learn that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve anything worthwhile in life and they choose to put the time and effort into their lives to cultivate meaning and happiness.
Courtesy of Aaron Lieber Why was sharing Bethany’s story important to you? It was important for me to share Bethany’s story because I think we all face challenges and we all have a choice. Bethany always has chosen to overcome and she does it in such a powerful way. It was the opportunity of my life to tell her story, and I am so thankful. Unstoppable hits theaters on July 12. Check out the film’s website to find a showing near you.
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Bethany Hamilton is a household name in the world of surfing. When she lost left her arm to a tiger shark in 2003, she gained worldwide recognition for her tenacity and determination to get back on a surfboard. Although she is often recognized as a shark-attack survivor, she is much more – a mother, wife, daughter, a friend and a world-class surfer.
Through her upcoming film “Unstoppable,” we get a deeper look into Hamilton’s life and the details that make her an inspiring athlete. The film follows her setbacks, failures, triumphs, and everything in between.
Aaron Lieber gave ASN a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the film, and what it was like working with a living legend Bethany Hamilton.
Where did the inspiration for this film come from?
I was inspired to make this film by the previous films I’ve made with female surfers: “Leave A Message” and “Lakey Peterson: Zero to 100.” Initially, Bethany really impressed me with her world-class surfing abilities – the goal was to just make a powerful, short, performance-centric film.
But as the film evolved, I knew I needed to tell a bigger story. I saw the potential to really push myself as a filmmaker and try to emulate filmmakers like Steve James (“Hoop Dreams”), Stacy Peralta (“Riding Giants,” “Dogtown and Z-Boys”), Bruce Brown (“The Endless Summer”), and Taylor Steele (“Momentum Generation”).
How is this film different from “Soul Surfer” and why do you think it’s important that it features the real Bethany as opposed to Hollywood actors?
“Soul Surfer” just scratched the surface of Bethany Hamilton as a full character and person, especially her surfing ability and capacity to overcome. So many “Soul Surfer” fans have told me they love “Unstoppable” because it’s the real Bethany.
It was important to me to make this documentary to show Bethany as the woman she is today. “Unstoppable” goes deeper into her life journey becoming a woman, mother, wife, and features her skills as a world-class athlete.
Additionally, the archive footage of her and her family takes the story to a deeper level that just can’t be replicated by Hollywood actors. It’s priceless and “Soul Surfer” fans are going to love the authentic and raw moments in “Unstoppable.”
How did you decide on the theme for this film?
I think “unstoppable” is a great way to describe Bethany’s journey. The fears and doubts and all the different challenges she has faced have made her [literally] unstoppable. I also think it’s a great message for others – so many people of all ages are inspired by Bethany and what she represents.
The hope for me with the title “Unstoppable” was to articulate not only what Bethany is, but what everyone else can also be. Everyone can be unstoppable in their journey if they choose to adapt to all the different challenges life throws at you.
What was the timeline for making the film?
Initially, the project was going to take 6 to 9 months and be a 6- to 8-minute performance piece. When Bethany got pregnant we weren’t sure what was going to happen but after a few weeks Bethany decided what she wanted to do. She and her husband, Adam, made the decision to let me follow them and her pregnancy and life on a much longer timeline. It’s been six years now.
Working on this project for so long taught me so much and has brought so much opportunity. It taught me that good things take time and it really taught me patience and to trust my intuition. When I premiered the film at Tribeca Film Festival in New York I got to meet a lot of other documentary directors and the shortest timeframe was three years to completion, but most of them were in the five- to eight-year range. One was even 10 years.
What was it like working on a film with so many moving parts?
Documenting a surfer’s life is not easy because everything is dependent on swell conditions and the weather, and even other surfers. For example, we went to Bali to shoot twice. One day we took a 2-hour boat ride to Desert Point and the waves were terrible. So we then took a 2-hour boat ride back and that was the day.
That sort of thing would happen a lot. You try and fail, and then try again. You basically are always in a state of trying to predict the future and be ready to capture something you think might happen. It’s really exhausting mentally and at the same time, you don’t want to influence the main character in a positive or negative way so I found myself internalizing a lot of the stress.
But overall I am really happy I did everything the way I did. I’m super proud of what we were able to accomplish with all of the obstacles. I also hired a few really talented people to help shoot along the way, and without them the film wouldn’t be what it is.
The film touches on a lot of Bethany’s setbacks along the way as opposed to just her successes. Why was that a focus?
I think it is important to show Bethany’s setbacks because that’s real life. If her story didn’t have setbacks it wouldn’t be interesting. A story that follows a hero’s journey arch has pivotal moments of failure and success, and those moments are what we can all relate to.
I also like to call Bethany a super hero, but she’s human and she does have setbacks. But how she handles those setbacks is what makes her unique. She’s always using her mind to adapt and overcome.
I think those lessons are so important to remind everyone that life isn’t always what you see on Instagram; it’s not always perfect. Everyone has challenges and everyone can overcome and be unstoppable if they should choose to use their mind, adapt and really push themselves to be the best they can be.
Is there a particular moment from filming that sticks out to you?
Bethany wanting to surf Peahi (a.k.a. Jaws), is the moment that sticks out in my brain. The way she casually approached surfing a 50-foot wave and the way she rode the wave blew my mind.
And the whole time while she was surfing Jaws she had the biggest smile – that’s just not a normal person. I don’t think I’ve seen a photo of any other surfer smiling while surfing Jaws. I also think it’s easy to overlook that she’s doing all this with one arm, while being a new mother. It’s unprecedented.
What do you hope people take away from the film?
I hope people recognize Bethany for more than the “survivor” of a shark attack and as the world-class, super-hero athlete she is. I also hope young boys and girls learn that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve anything worthwhile in life and they choose to put the time and effort into their lives to cultivate meaning and happiness.
Why was sharing Bethany’s story important to you?
It was important for me to share Bethany’s story because I think we all face challenges and we all have a choice. Bethany always has chosen to overcome and she does it in such a powerful way. It was the opportunity of my life to tell her story, and I am so thankful.
Unstoppable hits theaters on July 12. Check out the film’s website to find a showing near you.
A Look Into the Changing Tides of Airline Surfboard Baggage Fees
Read article
Surfrider Releases New Short Film: ‘The United States and Oceans of America’
Read article
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
A Look Into the Changing Tides of Airline Surfboard Baggage Fees
Read article
A Look Into the Changing Tides of Airline Surfboard Baggage Fees
Surfrider Releases New Short Film: ‘The United States and Oceans of America’
Read article
Surfrider Releases New Short Film: ‘The United States and Oceans of America’
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