Bethany Hamilton and AnnaSophia Robb will receive Maverick Awards during the Cinequest Film Festival on the 12th of March.
Hamilton will receive the special "Life of a Maverick Award," and AnnaSophia will be honored with Cinequest’s "Emerging Maverick Award."
"Soul Surfer," the movie that tells the incredible life story of surfer Bethany Hamilton, will be closing the Cinequest Film Festival at the California Theater in San Jose, California.
AnnaSophia Robb plays the part of Bethany Hamilton in a surf movie where Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt are also starring.
Based on Hamilton’s book, director Sean McNamara’s "Soul Surfer" captures the spirit and strength of a young woman's determination to overcome the loss of her arm after an almost deadly shark attack.
Bethany recently launched her foundation, "Friends of Bethany," which supports shark attack survivors and traumatic amputees and serves to inspire others through her life story.
Born into a family of surfers on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, in 1990, Bethany began surfing at a young age. At the age of eight, Bethany entered her first surf competition, winning both the short and long board divisions.
She was attacked when she was thirteen years old, and her incredible faith and positive spirit boosted a quick return to the waves just one month after the accident in pursuit of her dream of becoming a professional surfer.