Lena Dunham to Pen Refugee Survival Story for Spielberg & J.J. Abrams

Lena Dunham at the American Songbook Gala in 2018
Lena Dunham at the American Songbook Gala in 2018. Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Variety/REX/Shutterstock (9696137o)

Lena Dunham is joining forces with Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams.

Dunham has been tapped to bring the real-life story of a young female refugee’s arduous journey in search of a better life to the silver screen. She will pen the script based on Melissa Fleming’s account, A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival.

The non-fiction novel was published in 2017. It tells the true story of Doaa Al Zamel, a mother of two fleeing Egypt for Sweden by boat. After four days at sea, their boat is shipwrecked and Al Zamel survived for days in the open water holding her two small children with only the support of an inflatable water ring.

Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners and J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot are co-producing the film, which will be distributed by Paramount Pictures and Amblin. 

Serving as executive producer is Arif Hussein. 

Variety was first to report this story.