A lot of the actors that were on the rubber dinghy were actual refugees, called in order to achieve honesty in the story telling. The seasickness and fainting scene were also real.
Yusra Mardini did a stunt for the actress that was playing her.
The night scene set in the middle of the sea were filmed in a pool, as opposed to the ones filmed in daylight, that were shot in nature.
In an interview, Yusra Mardini and film director, Sally El Hosaini shared how they hope the film might bring Sara's case to greater public attention. "People can go online and look at Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Free Humanitarians hashtag. That's where people should go to look [for] the latest [news]." El Hosaini added.
The actresses who play the swimming sisters are actual sisters