I Was a Stranger. Genre: Drama, Thriller. Director: Brandt Andersen. Cast: Yasmine Al Massri, Yahya Mahayni, Omar Sy, Ziad Bakri, Constantine Markoulakis. Release Date: 2025-12-31. Runtime: 103 minutes. Rating: 6.5/10. A Syrian doctor and her daughter flee Aleppo, setting off a chain of events that binds five strangers together. A smuggler, a soldier, a poet, and a coast guard captain collide in a crisis that tests their courage, their choices, and their humanity.