The Swimmers: drama based on a true story in which two young sisters dare to flee Syria
Plot and background
Based on a true story, the Netflix production “The Swimmers” follows two young sisters on a journey from war-torn Syria to Germany to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The girls use their swimming skills for a heroic and dangerous mission. Sara (Manal Issa) and Yusra Mardini (Nathalie Issa) are two teenage swimmers. They live with their family in a suburb of Darayya in Damascus. But with the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the family’s life is turned upside down. As the danger on the ground intensifies, the sisters convince their father to help them escape Syria together with their cousin Nizar (Ahmed Malek). They embark on a journey that means a fight for life and death. Arrived in Germany, Yusra starts swimming training again and convinces coach Sven (Matthias Schweighöfer) of her talent. Sven agrees to train Yusra and the young Syrian actually makes it to the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she competes for the Refugee Olympic Athletes team. But the nerve-wracking flight and the new life in Germany pose a great challenge to the relationship of the two sisters.
The official trailer shows first insights into the emotional story of the two sisters:
“The Swimmers” – background, cinema release
Welsh-Egyptian filmmaker Sally El Hosaini (“My Brother the Devil”) adapted the true story of the Mardini sisters for the screen. “The Swimmers” tells of war and flight, but also of female emancipation and sisterhood. The French-Lebanese sisters Manal Issa (“The Parisian”) and Nathalie Issa were in front of the camera in the leading roles as Sara and Yusra Mardini. German actor Matthias Schweighöfer (“What a Man”) stars as swimming coach Sven Spannenkrebs. Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan serve as producers, as do Ali Jaafar and Tim Cole.
“The Swimmers” will be shown in selected German cinemas from 10 November 2022 and will be available to stream worldwide on Netflix from 23 November 2022.
