Netflix’s upcoming film The Swimmers tells the remarkable true story of two Syrian sisters who fled their war-torn home in Damascus and went on to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
) who co-wrote the script alongside Enola Holmes scribe Jack Thorne, the film follows Yusra and Sarah who were trained to become professional swimmers by their father , as they embark on a harrowing journey out of Syria with their cousin and make their Olympic debut.
The film, which sees the young sisters put both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use, recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is now among Netflix’s biggest 2023 Oscar hopefuls. “I’m ecstatic,” said El Hosaini about the TIFF inclusion. “What an honour and privilege to open TIFF with the inspirational true-life story of the Mardini sisters. A city as multicultural and diverse as Toronto is the perfect place to debut our film that elevates the visibility and voice of refugees, reminding us that the human capacity to survive is stronger than most of us know.