In the heat of a swimming competition, with families cheering on teenage athletes in a complex adorned with Syrian flags, the roof of the building explodes as bombs fall from the sky. One lands in the pool, sinking slowly and threatening to detonate as a panicked swimmer tries to get out of the water. That swimmer is Yusra Mardini, and The Swimmers tells the true story of her and her sister’s journey to escape the war engulfing their country to pursue Yusra’s dream of making it to the Olympics.
Directed by Sally El Hosaini (My Brother the Devil), The Swimmers is a biographical drama that both illuminates the refugee experience and shows a young athlete’s determination to succeed against all odds.
The Swimmers will be available on Netflix Nov. 23.
Watch the official Netflix trailer for The Swimmers.
The cast of The Swimmers features Nathalie Issa (My Favorite Fabric), Manal Issa (The Sea Ahead, Ulysses & Mona), Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of Thieves, Army of the Dead), Ali Suliman (Jack Ryan, Paradise Now), Ahmed Malek (The Furnace, Clash), James Krishna Floyd (My Brother the Devil, The Good Karma Hospital) and Nahel Tzegai (Sliced, The Miracle Workers). Read this cast guide for more info.
🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐
Teenager Yusra Mardini (Nathalie Issa) and her older sister, Sara (Manal Issa), are both competitive swimmers living in Syria in 2015, when the country is steeped in conflict. During a swim competition, the Mardini family is caught in a bombing. They survive, but the traumatic event inspires Yusra and Sara to travel to Germany to apply for asylum. To get there, they must cross through several other countries undocumented. Unwilling to risk the dangerous journey, their parents and younger sister remain, hoping they’ll be reunited after Yusra and Sara arrive in Berlin and plead their case.
Yusra and Sara and their cousin Nizar (Malek) first travel to Turkey, where they cross the sea to Greece in a dangerously small boat with other refugees. Despite nearly sinking, they eventually land on a Greek island, making their way to the European mainland and across several more borders before catching a bus to Berlin, where they find temporary housing at a local refugee camp.
Yusra convinces a local swim coach, Sven (Schweighöfer), to train her and Sara. Meanwhile, Yusra and Sara are informed that they will not be able to apply for asylum for the rest of their family. Yusra remains determined to focus on her training, while Sara becomes more interested in her new social life. Sven approaches Yusra with an opportunity to join an Olympic team for refugees. Yusra, hoping to represent Syria, is hesitant at first but eventually agrees with encouragement from Sara. Yusra qualifies for the team and makes it to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. While she faces stigma for being a refugee, she ultimately proves her merit as an athlete.
The Swimmers takes place in Syria, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Hungary, Germany and Brazil.
