The Swimmers

The Swimmers is a 2022 biographical sports drama film directed by Sally El Hosaini from a screenplay that she co-wrote with Jack Thorne. The film stars real-life sisters Nathalie Issa and Manal Issa, Ahmed Malek, Matthias Schweighöfer, Ali Suliman, Kinda Alloush, James Krishna Floyd and Elmi Rashid Elmi. The Swimmers had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2022, and was released in select cinemas on November 11, 2022. It was shown at the evening gala of the Marrakesh International Film Festival on November 18, 2022, before its streaming release on November 23, 2022, by Netflix. Premise The plot follows the life story of teenage Syrian refugees Yusra Mardini and her sister Sarah Mardini, who swam alongside a sinking dinghy of refugees to lighten it, and eventually help 18 refugees to reach safety across the Aegean Sea while being smuggled from İzmir towards Lesbos. Subsequent struggles as refugees are vividly depicted, but Yusra Mardini's swimming career sees her reaching the Rio 2016 Olympics as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team. The final credits inform that Yusra's sister Sarah, who had returned to Lesbos as part of voluntary efforts to assist incoming refugees in 2016, had been arrested and faced charges carrying potentially long-term prison sentences, if convicted.