True Spirit: Jessica Watson biopic heads to Netflix

Jessica Watson (OAM) became the youngest person to sail around the world in 2009 – and now Netflix will recreate her story in the theatrical release True Spirit.

Jessica Watson, as you might remember, is an Australian sailor – and the youngest to ever sail solo and unassisted around the world.

At only age 16, Watson departed Sydney on a sailboat on 18 October 2009, heading north-east, before crossing the equator in the Pacific Ocean and then the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

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Silvi Vann-Wall is a Melbourne-based journalist, podcaster, critic and filmmaker who loves frogs and improv comedy. They were the ScreenHub Film Content Lead from 2022 to 2025. Twitter (X): @SilviReports / Bluesky: @silvi.bsky.social‬ / Website: silvireports.com