Remembering the 1995 All-Women’s America’s Cup Team Aboard Mighty Mary
“It’s a hidden piece of history,” says Mary Mazzio, the award-winning documentary film director of “Mighty Mary,” the film about the 1995 first all-women’s America’s Cup contending team.
Mazzio is no ordinary filmster. She is an Olympic athlete, former law firm partner, and founder and CEO of 50 Eggs, Inc., an independent film production company dedicated to making impactful films.
“I had been on the Olympic rowing team (in 1992), and a bunch of my teammates were on the Mighty Mary crew as grinders,” she says. “The physicality that was required of these women was extraordinary. These women were going toe-to-toe with the best athletes in the field at the time. Dawn Riley had been aboard Bill Koch’s (1992) team, but by and large this (1995) team was a novice women sailors’ effort. What an extraordinary and daunting task they had ahead of them.”
Mazzio says, “I’m also so grateful for the men who gave nuance to this story, trying to figure out the women’s role and how it was reflected; what they had to say was beautiful.”
“Mighty Mary,” which is narrated by Hugh Jackman and Elizabeth Banks, will be screened August 18 at Maryland Hall in Annapolis, hosted by Annapolis Film Festival. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Following the screening, Gary Jobson will moderate a panel discussion with Mazzio, Annapolis sailor and Mighty Mary crew member Suzy Leech, and other sailors from the team. Purchase tickets here.
If you miss the August 18 screening, there will be more chances to see the film, as it will be released at the AMC Theater in Annapolis, among other cities, September 11. Learn more at mightymaryfilm.com and 50eggs.com.
