The film was shot in just 40 days, and the entire film was shot with 35mm film. The film is adapted from the biography Soul Surf: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Getting Back on the Surfboard published in 2004. Bethany Hamilton (AnnaSophia Robb), who grew up on Kauai Island in Hawaii, is a natural surfing genius who has shown extraordinary talent in surfing since childhood. She and her friend Elana (Lorraine Nicholson) participated in national surfing competitions and achieved impressive results. But one morning when she was 13 years old, a 14-foot-long tiger shark attacked her while she was surfing and bit off her left arm. In an instant, her life and future were washed away. Just when everyone was preparing to find another way out for her, she decided to return to the surfing arena with her crippled body. With the help of her good friends Tom, Cherry and Sarah, she stood up again with her amazing perseverance and stood on the surfboard and the waves.