<P> Soul Surfer is a 2011 American biographical drama directed by Sean McNamara, based on the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton about her life as a surfer after a horrific shark attack and her recovery . The film stars AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, and Lorraine Nicholson with Carrie Underwood, Kevin Sorbo, Sonya Balmores, Branscombe Richmond, and Craig T. Nelson . </P> <P> Filming took place in Hawaii in early 2010, with additional filming taking place in Tahiti in August 2010 . Soul Surfer was released in theaters on April 8, 2011 in the United States and Canada by a partnership between FilmDistrict and TriStar Pictures, and was a commercial success, earning $47,088,990 on a $18 million budget, but received mixed reviews from critical audiences . </P> <P> In 2003, teenager Bethany Hamilton lives in Kauai, Hawaii with her parents Tom and Cheri, and two brothers, Noah and Timmy . All are surfers, but she and her best friend Alana Blanchard have grown up with a passion for the sport and enter a competition . Her church youth ministry leader, Sarah Hill, is disappointed when she has to withdraw from a planned mission trip to Mexico because of the contest . </P> <P> In the competition, Bethany and Alana place first and third, respectively . The following day, Tom goes to the hospital for knee surgery, and the girls go surfing with Alana's father Holt and brother Byron . As Bethany dangles her left arm in the water, a tiger shark is swimming just under her surfboard and notices her arm floating in the water . It unexpectedly attacks, ripping off her arm below the shoulder . Holt, Alana, and Byron get her out of the water where Holt makes a tourniquet out of his swimshirt to put on her while Byron calls 911 as Cheri is also informed . An ambulance meets them on the way to the hospital . Just before starting Tom's knee surgery, Dr. David Rovinsky is called to the emergency room to treat Bethany . Besides losing her left arm, she also lost 60% of her blood and Dr. Rovinsky calls her survival a miracle . </P>

Where does the movie soul surfer take place