‘The Row’ First Look: Oscar Winner Bryan Fogel Documents One Man’s Incredible Solo Row From California To Hawaii – Telluride Film Festival
A documentary titled *The Row*, directed by Oscar winner Bryan Fogel, premieres at the Telluride Film Festival, chronicling extreme athlete Tez Steinberg's attempted solo row of roughly 1,700 miles from California to Hawaii. Rather than a straightforward sports documentary, the film is framed as a psychological study of Steinberg's motivations, exploring grief and personal loss alongside the physical extremity of the voyage, and marks a homecoming premiere for Fogel, who grew up in Colorado.
The film also covers Steinberg's subsequent, even longer attempt to row from Hawaii to Australia, drawing on 197 days alone at sea and around 600–700 hours of footage shot across the two crossings. Fogel described the production as fraught, with long stretches when the crew lost contact with Steinberg and had no way of knowing whether he was safe. The Row is produced by Jake Swantko, Jonathan Woods and Julia Lull, co-written by Mark Monroe, and features music by Adam Peters.
- Bryan Fogel's new documentary The Row debuts at Telluride Film Festival
- Follows Tez Steinberg's solo rowing attempts across the Pacific Ocean
- Explores personal grief behind his extreme endurance feats