SBIFF: Row of Life: Living Fearless Takes Audacity and Grit
IN A TIME WHEN THE HUMAN SPIRIT in the face of the impossible is in high demand, athletes like Angela Madsen strike a particular chord with audiences. Row of Life, Soraya Simi’s new documentary, charts this force of nature, as Madsen takes on the seven seas, in search of conquering them and her own fears.
A former Marine, three-time Paralympian, and renowned ocean rower with 14 world records under her belt, Madsen was a hero to those in the margins: the LGBTQ+ community, women, and adaptive athletes. Her intensely personal relationship to the ocean—both called to it and challenged by it— made her a powerhouse to reckon with.
Simi shares a similar affinity for the ocean. Her first feature documentary, Where the Water Takes Us, documented 20 college students on a 40-day sailing journey in the Caribbean, and caught Madsen’s eye. The two forged a friendship over the desire to document what would become Madsen’s swan song: a solo unassisted row across the Pacific Ocean, from Los Angeles to Hawaii.
With Row of Life set to make it’s world premiere after five years in the making, Simi took a moment to answer a few questions about her film.
VOICE: What about this subject matter compelled you to make this film?
Soraya Simi: Angela Madsen herself — I had never met or known anyone like her: a 60 year old Paralympian and Marine Veteran, with the audacity, skill, and grit to attempt to row the Pacific Ocean alone. She is a magnetic person, and from the moment we met, I was hooked. Angela as a person is a once in a lifetime character and a privilege to be around.
VOICE: How has your creative process brought you to using film as a medium?
Simi: I am a firm believer that a story finds its right medium, and sometimes that’s not always film. Film behooves the story to have first and foremost a visual language on display — something that must be seen to be believed. In the case of Row of Life, it was important to capture the profound sense of scale of the Pacific Ocean and Angela’s tiny 20 foot vessel in comparison. She was like an astronaut heading to space on her own, with a perspective few of us can imagine. Capturing that experience on camera helps fill the gaps and express the magnitude of what she was setting out to do.
VOICE: Where do you hope to see your film, and its message, go from here?
Simi: We hope Row of Life finds the biggest platform available so audiences — particularly women, adaptive athletes, military veterans, and the LGBTQ+ community — can bear witness to Angela’s remarkable story and hear her message about finding one’s authenticity, defining one’s own courage, and pursuing one’s own unique destiny.
It is our intention to screen the film as much as possible in-person this coming year to make Angela’s uplifting message and astounding legacy ubiquitous, with a powerful impact campaign focused on creating incubators around adaptive sports/living with disability, LGBTQ+ safety, and veteran suicide.
We are also in the works of a scripted adaptation of Angela’s story... so more to come!
VOICE: How has Santa Barbara been an influence on your creative work and process?
Simi: Wow! Where to start? Given that it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world, I kiss the ground daily for the peace, safety, and creative freedom the mountains, the sea, the islands, and the community Santa Barbara gives me. It is so much easier to remember what really matters in a place like this. It helps me nurture an identity beyond “working in the industry,” and gives me a real sense of home, deep in my bones, that always reminds me who I really am.
VOICE: What’s your connection to Santa Barbara?
Simi: I am a full-time resident of Santa Barbara. In addition to working as a freelance filmmaker, I founded and run a grassroots organization for all filmmakers on the Central Coast called 805 Film Collective, that celebrates the intrinsic link between storytelling and culture, and makes clear the inherent value of producing excellent film work for a thriving local community and economy.
READ THE ORIGINAL
