Lena Dunham to Adapt Refugee Survival Story for Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams (EXCLUSIVE)

By Matt Donnelly

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Lena Dunham will write the harrowing survival tale of a Syrian refugee stranded at sea for the big screen.

Dunham has been tapped by co-producers Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams to adapt “A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival.”

The nonfiction release comes from author Melissa Fleming, the chief spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner and Flatiron Books. It documents the true story of Doaa Al Zamel, a mother of two fleeing Egypt for Sweden by boat. Shipwrecked along the way, Al Zamel survived for days in open water holding two small children in each arm with only the support of an inflatable water ring.

The project is set up at Paramount Pictures with Abrams’ Bad Robot and Spielberg’s Amblin Partners producing. Arif Hussein will executive produce. Amblin and Paramount are expected to co-distribute the title globally.

Dunham is repped by CAA. She is a co-creator and executive producer on HBO’s “Camping” and the series “Girls.” She marked her breakout with the 2010 indie “Tiny Furniture,” for which she served as writer, director, and star.

Dunham will also appear in Quentin Tarantino’s forthcoming Manson-centric ensemble drama “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” alongside Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie.