Annette Bening to Play Lesbian Swimmer Diana Nyad in New Film

The Oscar winning duo behind the documentary Free Solo is bringing us a biopic of long-distance swimming icon Diana Nyad starring Annette Bening.

The film is based on Nyad's autobiography Find a Way, which talks about her life growing up and surviving sexual abuse from a coach, to becoming the first person to swim the length of Cuba to Florida without the aid of a cage at the age of 64.

Nyad, who is a lesbian, rose to fame as a long-distance swimmer when she circled Manhattan Island in seven hours and 57 minutes in 1979. Later she completed what was then the longest swim in history, going from the Bahamas to Florida, a 102.5 mile trip. She accomplished her biggest swimming successes later in life though.

At the age of 64, after four unsuccessful attempts at swimming the 110 miles from Cuba to Florida through shark and jellyfish infested waters, Nyad succeeded in September of 2013 when she swam for an incredible 52 hours, 54 minutes and 18.6 seconds without stopping or getting any assistance. She was greeted on the Key West beach by American flags and rainbow flags.

This is the first narrative film for documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. Emmy winner Ann Biderman (Ray Donovan) and Do No Harm writer Julia Cox wrote the screenplay. Vasarhelyi and Chin's documentary Free Solo, follows rock climber Alex Honnold as he attempted to free solo climb (climbing without the use of ropes, harnesses or protective equipment) the face of the 3,000 foot face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

Bening is one of the most celebrated actors of her generation, earning four Oscar nominations in her storied career, including for playing a lesbian in The Kids Are All Right. More recently, she's been seen in the MCU film Captain Marvel.

This is sure to be an inspiring film, and we can't wait to see what Bening brings to the project.