If you love inspiring movies based on remarkable real-life events, Netflix's latest film needs to go straight into your ‘Watch Next’ list. The Swimmers tells the story of two extraordinary women – sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini – two aspiring young swimmers who flee their home in Syria and go on to do incredible things.
The film, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2022, chronicles the journey of Yusra and Sara as they face terrifying situations while fleeing Syria's war-torn capital Damascus to seek a new life in Europe. But it was their love of swimming, instilled in them by their father, Ezzat, that helps them survive many situations – and in the end, sees Yusra achieve her dream of competing in the Olympic games. Here's everything you need to know about the movie…
What is The Swimmers about?
As outlined above, The Swimmers is based on the story of sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini, who fled their home in Damascus, Syria, in 2015. During their dangerous journey they travelled via Lebanon to Turkey, before paying traffickers to take them to Greece, and overland to Germany.
But during a traumatic boat journey from Turkey to Greece, the worst happened – the motor stopped, and the vessel began to sink. Yusra and Sara jumped into the water and pulled the boat to shore for nearly four hours, saving all passengers.
Yusra has previously told Vogue of the experience: “We used our legs and one arm each — we held the rope with the other and kicked and kicked. Waves kept coming and hitting me in the eye. That was the hardest part — the stinging of the salt water. But what were we going to do? Let everyone drown? We were pulling and swimming for their lives.”
Eventually, the sisters did make it safely to Germany, where the remarkable story continued. Just a year after their perilous journey, the film sees Yusra achieving her dream of competing in swimming events at the 2016 Rio Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic team.
Is there a trailer for The Swimmers?
There sure is. Here's the Sia-soundtracked teaser:
Who's in the cast of The Swimmers?
Real-life sisters Nathalie and Manal Issa play Yusra and Sara, while James Krishna Floyd, Ali Suliman, Ahmed Malek and Matthias Schweighöfer make up the supporting cast.
Yusra herself told The Guardian that Nathalie and Manal were the perfect choices for the roles. “That was the beauty of it because they come from a similar background, they knew exactly what we went through as girls. That’s what made it so amazing. Every time we watch it, we cry,” she said.
What's the release date for The Swimmers?
The Swimmers launches on Netflix from Wednesday 23 November 2022.
Is The Swimmers true to the real-life story of the Mardini sisters?
It's thought that the film will be pretty close to the true story, since both sisters have given their blessing to the film.
Though in a shocking development that's not touched on in the movie – save for a brief frame at the end – Sara was arrested in 2018 while doing humanitarian aid work on the Greek island of Lesbos, where she and Yusra first arrived during their own refugee journey years ago. She was kept in jail for more than three months, charged with spying, smuggling and belonging to a criminal organisation – and the trial, which has been adjourned, remains on hold with no outcome.
Sara has spoken on emotional toll the experience had on her in a TED Talk in 2019, and chooses to stay under the radar – though she did make an appearance at the The Swimmers world premiere in Toronto. Yusra told The Guardian: “It’s scary for her to start with anything, because she doesn’t know what’s going to happen in the future… She’s taking it all in, enjoying that the movie is going out. It could be hard for her because now lots of people know what’s going on. I hope it will be over soon and the movie will push things in the right direction for her and the other people involved.”
