Daisy Ridley stars in Young Woman and the Sea, the biopic about Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
The film, directed by Joachim Rønning and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, had its world premiere this week, where Ridley talked about her intense training and filming in the Black Sea.
“I was really alone in the Black Sea, and I was really trying to keep pace with the camera,” she told Deadline during the premiere. “And then I was trying to keep pace with the boat and the camera boat. I trained for three months and then we were training during filming.”
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She continued, “And then we did the big swim at the end. So it was nine days in the Black Sea. It was overwhelming. It was cold. Each time, it was scary.”
Ridley said that all the effort paid off as watching the finished film, “you can see that it’s the open water. You can see that I’m there, and it adds to the majesty of the story. And also, it’s just a tiny part of what Trudy did, which is crazy.”
The film’s director recognized Ridley’s efforts and how committed she was giving life to Ederle.
“It was very important to me to shoot it on real water. I wanted to be in the elements and tell this story. I didn’t want to be in a tank with a blue screen or green screen,” Rønning said.
Rønning talked to Ridley about his plans and despite training for months, “nothing could really prepare her for what we did week after week out in the open ocean, sixty degrees water, her lips blue. [She] never complained and always going for it, always getting it, channeling Trudy… And I hope the audience can feel that.”
Bruckheimer talked about why Young Woman and the Sea is an important film.
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