Manal Issa says Netflix should have cast Syrian actors and did not do justice to the real story Actor Manal Issa, right, pictured with sister and co-star Nathalie Issa, says she was not completely ...

The actress, who plays a migrant who flees Syria for Europe in the film, expressed regret about participating in the project. Many cinephiles had high expectations for “The Swimmers,” Sally El ...

By Etan Vlessing Canada Bureau Chief In Netflix’s The Swimmers, Nathalie Issa and Manal Issa — Lebanese actors and sisters in real life — play the roles of Yusra and Sara Mardini ...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SWIMMERS") MANAL ISSA: (As Sara) By the way, it's not a dinner. It's your surprise birthday party. NATHALIE ISSA: (As Yusra) I hate you. M ISSA: (As Sara) Just don't ruin ...

Manal Issa and Nathalie Issa, real life sisters who play a pair of Olympic swimming hopefuls, also sisters, said they weren’t at all aquatic when cast in the Sally El Hosaini film ‘The ...

The Gist: In 2015, sisters Yusra (Nathalie Issa) and Sara (Manal Issa) Mardini are competitive swimmers in Syria as the country collapses into civil war. They see the writing on the wall and start ...

Because, unlike many films touching on refugees, or even the Middle East for that matter, The Swimmers shows the sisters — played by real-life Lebanese sisters Nathalie Issa (Yusra) and Manal ...

Film producers were lining up in 2016 to secure rights to the life story of professional swimmers Yusra and Sara Mardini, but the sisters turned down multiple offers. The siblings were known for ...

"Two young sisters [Nathalie Issa and Manal Issa] embark on a harrowing journey as refugees, putting both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use," the synopsis adds. Ali Güler ...

“Palestinian and Jordanian accents would work too, with some coaching”. El Hosaini had Manal Issa (The Sea Ahead) on her mind when she first read the script, having seen her in a Lebanese film.

In Subrin’s film, three actresses — Manal Issa, Aïssa Maïga and Isabel Sandoval — progressively interpret the text of Schneider’s interview throughout the 25-minute piece, with Issa strictly ...

"Manal Issa" is a sequel to Elisabeth Subrin's "The Listening Tapes" culled from hours of conversations between Elisabeth in the U.S. and Manal in Lebanon. It intimately considers the role of the ...