Where Was Netflix's Most Viewed Movie The Swimmers Filmed?

Established in partnership with Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Izmir Foundation, Izmir Cinema Office continues to support the TV series and cinema industry. Filmed in Bayındır, Çeşme and Karaburun with the support of the Cinema Office, The Swimmers became the most watched movie on Netflix Turkey.

Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç SoyerThe Izmir Cinema Office, which was established in cooperation with the Izmir Foundation with the aim of transforming Izmir into a cinema city, continues its works on the development of the cinema industry in Izmir and the use of the city as an open-air plateau. The Swimmers, which shot footage of three different countries in Izmir and made its world premiere as the opening film at the Toronto Film Festival, was screened on Netflix on November 23 and became the platform's most watched film in Turkey.

Brazilian wind at Çeşme beach

İzmir Cinema Office held many meetings with the production team of The Swimmers for the film crew to choose İzmir. In this way, Izmir was used for the stage of three different countries. While the beaches of Ilıca were shot in Rio De Janeiro and the streets of Alaçatı as the Greek island of Lesbos, the remaining shooting of the film was completed in England and Belgium.

The Izmir Cinema Office provided guidance for the production in Izmir, which was produced in Turkey by AZ Celtic Film and MATE Pictures. The production team worked in coordination with the İzmir Cinema Office since the venue research. AZ Celtic representative Zeynep Santıroğlu, who provides services to many international productions in Turkey, said that the cooperation with İzmir Cinema Office was very productive and that the facilities and natural beauties provided by İzmir are important for Hollywood productions that will choose Turkey as a venue in the future.

Students gained experience

During the filming, many companies from Izmir were allowed to take part in this big production. During the shootings in Bayındır, Çeşme and Karaburun, 20 students who applied to the İzmir Cinema Office and continued their education in the cinema departments of universities in İzmir had the opportunity to do internships. Young filmmakers, who joined the film production teams according to their interests, learned the subjects they were curious about from the English team of the film.

Syrian swimmer tells the story of Yusra Mardini

The Swimmers is about the real life story of Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini. Working Title Films made the film about the successful swimmer's escape from his country of civil war and his participation in the 2016 Rio Olympics.