BEYTO

Gitta Gsell | Switzerland | 2021 | 98 min | SWISS GERMAN & TURKISH S.-T.EN.

Based on a novel by Yusuf Yesilöz, Beyto spans continents and cultures, as “clever boy” Beyto juggles his responsibilities and swimming abilities to try and make his conservative Turkish parents proud, while falling for his swimming coach – and equally hunky lover – Mike.

Beyto (Burak Ates) has the good job, stellar English marks, and athletic talent to make any parent proud. But Beyto’s parents aren’t just any parents. They are struggling immigrants trying to make a living in Switzerland while supporting family members in their former village, and their prejudiced views on homosexuality turn to full-on panic when their only child is spotted at a Pride Parade kissing Mike (Dimitri Stapfer). A swiftly arranged marriage to Beyto’s childhood friend, Narin (Beren Tuna), puts his burgeoning relationship and drive for success in jeopardy, plunging everyone into the deep end of “false hope.” As the story shifts between Switzerland and Turkey, workouts in the gym and sweat sessions in the bedroom, and the loving embrace of tradition and its inflexible extremes, each character is forced to keep responsibility and mutual respect afloat, or sink trying.

in-cinema screening at Centre PHI | NOVEMBER 27 – 9PM