Two sisters flee from Syria to Germany, bringing with them dreams of becoming Olympic swimmers, in this powerful biographical drama by Sally El Hosaini.
In collaboration with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, we are hosting a screening of Sally El Hosaini’s film based on the remarkable true story of swimming sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini’s miraculous journey as refugees from Syria, all the way to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The Swimmers is heartfelt drama which traces the real-life, death-defying journey of Yusra and Sara Mardini — tight-knit sisters with big dreams — as they flee war-torn Syria on a lifeboat, in the hopes that one of them can compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Nominated for Outstanding British Film at the BAFTA Film Awards, the film centres on the triumph of the human spirit and celebrates a unique and inspiring achievement.
We are delighted to be joined by director Sally El Hosaini on a panel with Vicky Tennant and Zahra Shaheer, hosted by Emma Cherniavsky, CEO of UK4U.
2022 dir Sally El Hosaini 134 min
Captioned Screening: Please note, this screening is HOH Captioned.
Booking fees
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About The Director
Sally El Hosaini is a BAFTA nominated feature film writer / director. Her acclaimed debut feature, MY BROTHER THE DEVIL, premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and played at over 40 international festivals; winning 12 awards, 17 nominations and an honourable mention.
The film won Best European Film at Berlinale, Best Newcomer at the BFI London Film Festival, Best Screenplay at the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Awards and was nominated for Best Debut at the British Independent Film Awards. The film was released theatrically in the UK, US and Canada.
Following this, she was chosen by Danny Boyle to direct the final 3 episodes of BABYLON, the TV series he co-created and produced with Jesse Armstrong (Succession) for Channel 4 / Sundance TV.
An alum of the Sundance Institutes Screenwriters and Directors Labs, Sally has been profiled by The Guardian, BBC America, Variety who featured her as one of their “Brits to Watch” and Indiewire who named her one of their “10 Most Exciting Female Directors in the World Today”.
THE SWIMMERS, Sally's second feature, opened the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival before being nominated for the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film. The script was co-written with Jack Thorne and produced by Working Title Films and Netflix, with Stephen Daldry as an exec producer. It was released theatrically in the UK, US and Germany and then on Netflix where it was an international hit.
It was number one on the platform in 47 countries, top ten in 86 countries and viewed by 60 million households in its first three weeks, achieving the rare feat of increasing its viewership on the platform in its second and third weeks.
It was one of the most streamed films in the world in 2022 and one of Netflix’s most successful original films to date. Sally was chosen as a GQ Hero 2023. She is currently in post-production on her third feature, UNICORNS, which she co-directed with James Krishna Floyd from an original screenplay he wrote. She is represented in the UK by Sayle Screen and in the US by CAA and Anonymous Content.
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Cinema 3
Location
Barbican Cinema 2 & 3 are located on Beech Street, a short walk from the Barbican’s Silk Street entrance. From Silk Street, you’ll see a zebra crossing that will take you across the road to the venue.
Address
Beech Street
London
EC2Y 8DS
Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.
