Against the backdrop of a country-wide arts and culture renaissance, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia became an epicenter for international film from December 1-10 as global filmmakers, celebrities, and crowds thronged to the city for the second annual Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF).
Netflix is currently streaming “The Swimmers,” a movie that dramatizes the true story of sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini. It depicts their journey as refugees from Syria to Germany via Turkiye and Greece in 2015. In particular it tells how they faced the chilling waters of the Aegean Sea when the engine of the overcrowded boat on which they were traveling suddenly broke down.
“The Swimmers” follows the now-famous story of the Mardini sisters, competitive swimmers who escaped the war in Syria in 2015, crossing the sea from Turkey to Greece on a rubber dinghy.