In the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, amid the swells of dark, churning water, a 60-year-old Marine Corps Veteran rows steadily forward. She is also a three-time Paralympian, a 14-time Guinness World Record holder and a woman determined to make history. 

In April 2020, Angela Madsen pushed off from the dock in Marina Del Ray, California, in her 20’ fiberglass rowing boat, Row of Life. It was around midnight, and as her boat slipped into the inky water, it was stocked with everything she needed to sustain herself for the three- to four-month journey: a generous supply of ready-to-eat meals, protein shakes, instant coffee and Ziplocs stuffed with treats from her wife, Deb. From her rowing seat, she could see a motto pasted to the inside of her cabin for inspiration: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” A satellite phone tucked in a pocket offered a lifeline and kept her tethered to those she left behind as she rowed, 12 hours a day, across 2,500 miles of open ocean. 

Angela felt confident she was prepared for the trip. She had long been an accomplished athlete and was an experienced rower. At 33, she had been paralyzed following a spinal surgery that went horribly wrong at a U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital. Refusing to let the injury hold her back, she returned to competitive sports and found her way back to health. As a member of the U.S. rowing team, Angela won four gold medals at world championships and competed in three Paralympic Games—earning a bronze medal in the shot put in London in 2012. She also rowed across the Atlantic Ocean twice, circumnavigated Great Britain and conquered the Indian Ocean, though always as part of a rowing team. Her name filled the pages of Guinness World Records and the dozen Paralymic medals she had earned in shot put and javelin sat on her shelves. 

But she dreamed of successfully crossing the Pacific solo. 

Row of Life, a documentary named after her boat, chronicles Angela Madsen’s remarkable journey across the Pacific in 2020. Premiering at film festivals across the country, the film has received widespread acclaim for its stunning cinematography and moving portrayal of Angela's relentless determination in the face of adversity that would overwhelm most.

---

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with two Blair graduates, Row of Life executive producer Tina Tozzi ’08 and Lukas Dong ’15, who worked as a cinematographer and consultant on the film. 

It’s a coincidence that two Blair graduates ended up working on this film. Did you know each other beforehand?

Lukas: We’ve never met before this interview. It’s good to meet you, Tina!

Tina: You as well! I am the Class of 2008, so we did not overlap at Blair. This is the first time we’ve spoken. 

How did this project come to you? 

Lukas: Soraya, the director, and I went to film school together at University of Southern California. We’ve worked on projects together for many years. She’d been working on this documentary for a while, and I’d always heard about it from her. At first, I helped casually, just as a friend, when she needed people on set, thoughts on notes or editing. Every now and then I would come shoot a day with her to help out. Over time, I got the pleasure of seeing it grow from nothing into what it is now.

Tina: I work on the development side, so the project came to me later than Lukas; he was involved in the production of it. I work for a women’s sports media company and [Director] Soraya [Simi] and the team came to us seeking an attachment through our female athletes. Sue Bird, the gold-medal-winning basketball player and a co-founder of our company, is connected to the film, which led to my involvement as an executive producer. I’ve mainly been involved with the festival circuit and distribution of the film.

What spoke to you personally about the film? Why did you want to be part of it? 

Tina: Angela is just an unbelievable character. I was fortunate in that, when I came in, I got to see the film in its almost completed form, so I was able to come on board knowing what the story was going to look like. I found Angela so magnetic to watch. She is so compelling, and her story checks every box for us: sport, empowerment, resilience and revolution. Angela meets all those key points. It was an easy “yes.”

Lukas: For me, when I started meeting the people directly, there was something about Angela’s personality and her relationship with Deb that was so powerful and heartbreaking that drew me in. That’s my favorite part of documentary filmmaking. You are living life as you do it, as you are going through these experiences. So, just being in the room, filming, as [Angela’s wife] Deb was talking. That was such an interesting life experience for me—to watch that and see how she dealt with circumstances. You don’t have to be specifically passionate about the subject or passionate about rowing to be swept away by this powerful story that draws you in in emotional ways. 

What do you hope that Blair students will take away when they see this documentary?

Tina: Persistence in their creative endeavors. This movie took six years to make and it was an act of resistance to keep pushing forward and tell the story. I hope that students see the value in telling the often-untold stories of people who inspire. It’s a reminder to stay true to your pursuit and creativity. These stories are worth telling.

Lukas: There’s a scene near the end—without giving anything away—when everyone comes together to paddle out in the ocean. The Coast Guard is there; the entire community is there. Angela felt so alone through a lot of her life, and, yet, the ending of the film is about how people unite. Maybe Angela didn’t even realize that—the power of doing what you care about. I hope students take from that the power of showing up authentically in the world. 

What is one of the lessons you, personally, took from the movie?

Tina: Angela’s love for life is enviable. If Angela chose to be the person who said, “Every bad thing happens to me,” most would agree. Whether confronting societal bias as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, adapting to life with paraplegia, breaking barriers as a female athlete or overcoming breast cancer, she meets every challenge with unwavering resilience. She has such a jovial personality type and she takes a lot of things on the chin. It’s moving to watch. And her commitment to something with the risk of death challenges you to live more boldly, with a little less whininess. It makes you ask yourself: If Angela is not whining, how can I be? She has no pity for herself. That is very admirable and something I took away from it. 

Lukas: For me, one of the things I took away is to persist. Over six years, there were so many periods of ups and downs where I wasn’t sure how Soraya would handle the curveballs, and if it would even be finished. It just shows: If it’s the right piece and you put the energy into it, it’ll turn into something. Any piece of art worth making has those moments. Following the arc of this film is a good example of examining all the different points where it made sense to stop, but they kept on. It was inspiring to see [Director Soraya Simi] just keep chipping away at this block of marble. 

Tina: Row of Life is also my first executive producer credit, and it means a lot to me. It’s obvious to me that I wouldn’t have this job or this career without the Blair video program or [Blair drama teachers] Judith and Steven Kampmann. In a rural town in New Jersey, I had the experience of having teachers who had written films and acted and been part of the television and movie world. As a student, they made it feel tangible to have this dream. Blair made this career path feel like a reality, when it can often feel like a delusional thing to consider. I’ll always be grateful for that.  

Are you surprised by the response the film is getting?

Lukas: No, once I saw a rough cut, I fell in love with it. I hadn’t been that emotional watching a film in a very, very long time. After I saw a bit of it, that’s what I expected.

Tina: It’s no surprise to me that the film resonates with people. The hardest part was always going to be getting it in front of people. Angela herself is such a compelling story. Watching people do impossible things is compelling.

It’s exciting to have Blair graduates finding success in the film industry. What’s next for you both? 

Lukas: I’m working on a documentary called Love, Chinatown, premiering in Boston soon. It’s about Chinatowns across America being overtaken by development, and a story about the resilience of people who live in those communities. It’s a really beautiful story and the central figure is this strong, charismatic woman who welcomed me like family. We see the story through her eyes, and she tells it like it is. 

Tina: I work in development, so most of the things I work on are still in the pipeline. But I executive produced season two of Surf Girls, which will be on Prime Video this summer. I’m very excited about the projects I’m working on for Togethxr, a sports media company founded by Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, Simone Manuel and Chloe Kim. I’m really proud of what we’re building there. 

---

While their upcoming projects vary, both Tina and Lukas share the same calling—to give light to stories that matter and endure. Their work reflects the message at the heart of Row of Life about the beauty of the human spirit and the power of resilience. Because, at its core, Row of Life is about far more than crossing an ocean–it’s about finding the strength to keep going when the tides rise in life. Thanks to the work of filmmakers like Tina and Lukas, Angela’s story continues to reach new audiences, encouraging all of us to live just a little more boldly. 

Row of Life has premiered at film festivals across the country, and will run in New York City from June 19 to June 25, 2025. At the 4:30 p.m. screening on Saturday, June 21, Blair alum and Athlete Ally founder Hudson Taylor ’05 will join Tina for a post-screening Q&A. For showtimes and tickets, visit here.