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Sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini endured a harrowing and incredible journey across sea and land from their war-torn home of Syria to Berlin before Yusra eventually utilized her years of training as a swimmer to compete in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Yusra and Sara’s story is inspiring and compelling, and brought to marvelous life by real-life sisters Nathalie and Manal Issa in Sally El Hosaini’s The Swimmers.

I had the chance to speak with Nathalie about getting to know and understand Yusra, starring alongside her sister, and staging some of the film’s most intense and wondrous scenes.

You can watch the video above, and read below for an official summary and where to watch. Check out our review of the film from the Toronto International Film Festival.

Film summary:

Based on a true story, THE SWIMMERS follows the journey from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics. Two young sisters embark on a harrowing journey as refugees, putting both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use.

Check out more of Abe Friedtanzer’s articles.

The Swimmers is currently streaming on Netflix.