Drama Movie I Was a Stranger, Migrant Escape with Omar Sy

I Was a Stranger, the movie plot

I Was a Stranger is an upcoming drama movie. A tragedy strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo, triggering a chain reaction of events across four different countries, involving people connected by family ties, including a doctor and her daughter, a soldier, a smuggler, a poet, and a coast guard captain.

“The cost is 2000 dollars for an adult and 1500 dollars for a child,” says a migrant trafficker in the released trailer. “After tonight, you and I will leave forever,” says Marwan (Omar Sy). “Where should we go?” he asks a child; “a place where they make pizza,” the boy responds.

During a birthday dinner, a bomb explodes a house.

I Was a Stranger, the movie cast

The cast includes Omar Sy, who has acted in Jurassic World - Dominion, The Intouchables, Les méchants, and the TV series Lupin.

Also featured are Yasmine Al Massri, previously seen in episodes of Quantico; Yahya Mahayni, who performed in Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints and The Man Who Sold His Skin.

The director is Brandt Andersen, an activist who in November 2023 joined the Royal Jordanian Air Force for humanitarian aid missions to Gaza: he filmed hospitals outside Aleppo, Syria, organizing film camps for refugees in Jordan and Turkey on behalf of CARE. His directorial debut, Refugee, was shortlisted for the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 2020.

I Was a Stranger, critical reviews and the movie release date

The movie has participated in several festivals, including the 2025 Berlinale. This movie aims to evoke noble suffering and make us feel bad. It’s not poorly made, quite the contrary, but it weighs so heavily that we realize we’ve been deceived. It’s a real shame.

Screen International writes: “It’s an ambitious and self-assured debut, but it’s hampered by a screenplay that aims to emphasize the most obvious details of the issue rather than offer a new perspective.”

According to RogerEbert: “It values misery as a vehicle for tension, but rarely as an occasion for humanity. In the end, Andersen has shaken, disturbed, and overwhelmed his audience to the point of forgetting how to inspire them.”

The movie will be released in US theaters on January 9, 2026.