Utah Queer Film Festival October 24-26, 2025.

Tickets and passes are on sale now!

October 24, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Jeanné Wagner Theatre at the Rose Wagner
$15 or Pay What You Can

Row of Life

One woman’s irrepressible ambition to defy all odds led her to the Marine Corps, three Paralympics, and fourteen Guinness world records. Angela Madsen inspired millions, and at 60, embarked on the most ambitious journey of all: to become the first paraplegic and oldest woman to row the impossibly vast Pacific Ocean alone and unassisted.

Row of Life is about renowned ocean rower Angela Madsen, a Paralympic medalist, Marine Veteran, and 14x Guinness World Record holder who attempted her final solo ocean row from Los Angeles to Hawaii in 2020. The film is a poetic story of bravery, resilience, and love between Angela and her wife Deb—separated by a vast ocean—supporting each other’s dreams despite what became the ultimate cost.

This event features a pre-film poetry performance by Artikulate and the pre-feature short film, Body Stories.

Body Stories is a 15-minute documentary weaving together 25 voices reflecting on birth, death, pleasure, pain, and the lifelong journey of inhabiting a body—boldly sharing stories that deserve to be told without shame or apology.

Directed by: Soraya Simi
Film type: Documentary
Runtime: 82 minutes
Year: 2025
Country: United States
Content advisory: Depictions of themes like ableism, bodily and mental health issues, homelessness, and poverty.
Language: English
Cast: Angela Madsen, Debra Madsen

“Row of Life is an incredibly moving journey of how far we go to achieve our dreams, the intersection of our body and spirit, and that love really can span an ocean. It’s storytelling at its best.” – Griffin Hendrickson

“A very inspirational, beautiful film about a lesbian woman overcoming all odds and courageously reaching for her dreams.” – Jen Banks

Official Selection:

2025 Frameline Film Festival
2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival
2025 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
2025 Wicked Queer
2025 Cleveland Film Festival

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