Filmmaker: Rory Kennedy
Runtime: 118 min
Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton is the remarkable story of the American icon and innovator who changed the sport of big wave surfing forever. Capturing a lush, violent and awe-inspiring world, the film intercuts never-before-seen archival footage with a winter surf season on Kauai where El Niño storm systems threaten to bring the biggest swells in decades. Moving beyond the surf genre, this in-depth portrait of a hard-charging, driven athlete explores the fear, courage, ambition, and talent that push a man to greatness—and the cost that comes with it.
About The Filmmaker
Rory Kennedy is one of America’s most prolific documentary filmmakers. An Academy Award-nominated, Primetime Emmy Award-winning director/producer, Kennedy’s work deals with some of the world’s most pressing issues—poverty, political corruption, domestic abuse, drug addiction, human rights and mental illness. Kennedy has made more than 30 highly acclaimed documentaries. Most recently, she completed ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’s JOURNEY TO TOMORROW, a feature documentary examining the extraordinary ways NASA has changed not only our vision of the universe, but also our planet, and ourselves. The film will broadcast on Discovery Channel in October of this year.
A graduate of Brown University, Kennedy majored in women’s studies. Along with acclaimed documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus, she is the co-founder of Moxie Firecracker Films in New York and Los Angeles. Kennedy is also a governor of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.