True stories are always the best stories when it comes to inspirational and uplifting tales. Everyone loves an underdog. The new film The Swimmers is both a triumphant tale of underdogs but also works as a sports film as well as a political look at the refugee crisis around the world. By taking us on a journey of two sisters, Yusra Mardini and Sara Mardini, as they travel from their home in war-torn Syria to Greece and all the way to Germany, this film evokes a powerful and breathtaking tale of survival and turns it into an emotional rollercoaster.
The Swimmers tells the true story of two women whose journey diverged once they became refugees. But, the journey of Yusra from competitive swimmer all the way to the 2016 Rio Olympics is a wonderful tale that has to be seen to be believed. Director Dally El Hosaini masterfully blends the real landscapes that the Mardinis traversed on their journeys with all of the elements of a sports movie making this unlike many films you will see (read our review here).
I got the chance to discuss The Swimmers with director Sally El Hosaini as well as the real Yusra Mardini. Both were very excited and honored for this story to be reaching as wide of an audience as possible and discussed how they achieved some of the stunning moments captured on film as well as how closely the movie followed Yusra’s real-life journey. I also talked with Matthias Schweighöfer who plays Yusra’s swimming coach, Sven. He talked about what this film was like to make as well as giving us a tiny hint about what could be coming for his involvement with Zack Snyder’s sequel to Army of the Dead. Check out the full interview in the embed above.
The Swimmers premieres on November 23rd on Netflix.