Synopsis

Damascus, 2015. With the city under siege, sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini leave for Europe via a treacherous refugee route. Both girls are serious swimmers who had been expected to compete at international level for their country. But with their homeland destroyed, that hope appears to lie in tatters. Working from a script co-written with Jack Thorne that gives so many big feels – from heart-stopping moments of peril to ones of joyous triumph – El Hosaini assuredly directs the story of Yusra’s indomitable will to achieve her dream. A sweeping and emotional true tale of human resilience, The Swimmers is given added depth by two impressive performances from rising star Manal Issa (The Sea Ahead, Memory Box, LFF 2021) and her sister Nathalie, who shines as Yusra.