Beyto is a Swiss film that explores, with depth and sensitivity, the conflict between personal identity, cultural tradition, and emotional freedom, through the story of a young Turkish immigrant coming to terms with his sexuality within a conservative family setting.
Beyto is a talented swimmer and a promising young man, well integrated into Swiss society.
He appears to lead a balanced life, but secretly maintains a romantic relationship with Mike, his coach and boyfriend. When his parents discover his sexual orientation, they deceive him into traveling to Turkey under the pretense of a family visit and pressure him into marrying Seher, a childhood friend.
Caught between true love and cultural obligations, Beyto is forced to make painful decisions that deeply affect not only his own life, but also Seher’s, who becomes another victim of a system that denies individual autonomy.
Beyto is a powerful story about the tension between tradition and modernity, between family duty and personal desire. The film subtly critiques forced marriage, internalized homophobia, and the burden of silence within migrant communities. Yet, it also celebrates the courage it takes to live authentically—even when that means breaking away from everything familiar.
ABOUT:
Talented swimmer, motivated apprentice, cool buddy: Beyto is in the midst of life. But when the only son of a Turkish migrant family falls in love with his coach Mike, an ideal world falls to pieces. His parents only see one way out: They lure him to their home village and plan his wedding with Seher, his childhood friend. Suddenly, Beyto finds himself in a disruptive love triangle. A subtle, summerly sensuous love story about three young people by Gitta Gsell.