Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: TV And Film, Netflix, Real Life
Poppy Bilderbeck
Netflix users are flooding to Twitter having been left stunned by an 'eye-opening' new release based on a true story.
Prepare to reach for a box of tissues:
It's that time of the year when there's nothing better than snuggling down after you finish work - it already having gotten dark by a ridiculously early hour - to settle into a gripping new Netflix drama.
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However, one of the streaming service's latest releases isn't just gripping, but is causing some viewers to dissolve into 'tears'.
Viewers have since leapt to Twitter to speak out about just how hard-hitting and 'incredible' the film is.
The Swimmers - directed by Sally El Hosaini - is a biographical drama written by El Hosaini alongside Jack Thorne.
The film's official synopsis reads: "From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a risky voyage, putting their hearts and their swimming skills to heroic use."
The drama - starring real-life sisters Nathalie Issa and Manal Issa - is based on the true story of real-life sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini who fled from Syria's civil war to Europe in 2015.
The pair flew to Turkey as tourists and then had to get a boat to Greece.
However, when the dinghy - carrying 18 asylum seekers - broke down, the Mardini sisters were forced to swim for over three hours across the Aegean sea.
Thankfully, both sisters made it safely to Europe - settling down in Germany - and Yusra went on to fulfil her dreams of swimming in the Olympics, competing as part of the Refugee Team in the 2016 Rio Olympics and Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The Swimmers was first released onto Netflix on Wednesday, 23 November - less than a week later and it's already causing quite the stir on social media.
Viewers are flooding to social media in support of the film.
One wrote: "[An] incredibly moving true story of sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini, told through emotional and compassionate lens. It will inspire you and have you in tears."
"The Swimmers on Netflix is nothing short of incredible. Many tears for a Sunday night," another said.
A third commented: "The swimmers on netflix really had me in tears. Great watch though, would recommend."
A final resolved: "30 mins into watching ‘The Swimmers’ on Netflix & I’m in tears. It’s based on a true story of Syrian sisters who fled war to become refugees & live their dream.
"There are people living this painful reality every day. Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, the list goes on. We need change."