Long Distance Swimmer - Sara Mardini

Director: Charly W. Feldman

Germany,  2022

88′

Synopsis

Sara Mardini, once a competitive swimmer in Syria, became Europe’s most celebrated refugee after saving 18 people’s lives. After working as a rescue volunteer in the Mediterranean, she is accused of people smuggling and faces a 25-year prison sentence. We follow her fight for justice and journey of self-discovery against the backdrop of Europe’s refugee ‘crisis’.

Community Center

12.10.2023 – Thursday – 13:00

Director Bio

Charly is a writer, producer, and documentary filmmaker based in London UK. She has a background producing current affairs films, many with international distribution. Her work includes “The Talwars” (a 4-episode HBO series), and “This is Exile: Diaries of Child Refugees”, which premiered at IDFA and won the Amnesty International Award in 2016. More recently, Charly produced the climate change musical road trip documentary “The Great Green Wall” and created a series called Inside the Cryptokingdom exploring the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. “Long Distance Swimmer: Sara Mardini” is her first feature documentary, shot over nearly four years following former Syrian swimmer and activist Sara Mardini after she was accused of human smuggling, money laundering, and espionage. Charly is the recipient of the 2020 Malik Bendjelloul Memorial Fund, has served as a jury member for the Royal Television Society, and is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia.

Credits

Camera: Zamarin Wahdat
Editing: Franziska von Berlepsch
Sound: Patrick Dadaczynski, Stanislaw Milkowski, Enrique Cuesta, Gregory Oke, Oskar von Gilgenheimb
Text: Charly W. Feldman
Production: Antje Böhmert, DOCDAYS Productions and Safe Passage Films

Trailer