Three-time Oscar nominated director Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billy Elliot) is gearing up to collaborate with Working Title once again on an a true story that follows a young woman who made it from being a Syrian refugee to becoming an Olympic competitor.
In August 2015, a Syrian refugee named Yusra Mardini fled her home country to escape a civil war. She and her sisters eventually found themselves headed to Greece on an overcrowded boat. The boats motor eventually failed and the boat began to take on water. Mardini, who trained as a swimmer in Syria, and a few others who were able to swim, jumped into the water and pushed the boat for the next three hours until they arrived at Lesbos.
Her story soon made headlines, and she continued to train Berlin. She eventually joined the world’s first Olympic team comprised of refugees and went on to compete in the 2016 Olympics.
The parallels between her passion for swim and her struggle for survival are bizarre to say the least. So much so, that if this were a work of fiction we’d find the premise a little suspect. However, it being based on true events and having Daldry to helm the project makes us eager to see how this project turns out. The film is currently without a title, or a release date.
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