This remarkable documentary recounts a brutal "gay-bashing" murder in France, follows the lengthy trial of the accused killers, and offers a moving firsthand account of the complex emotional response of the victim's family. In so doing, BEYOND HATRED explores the social and psychological roots of homophobia and similar hate crimes as well as demonstrating the emotional maturity that enables the rare human quality of forgiveness

In September 2002, three French neofascist 'skinheads' went to a public park in Rheims looking for an 'Arab' to attack when they came across Francois Chenu, a young gay man. When he refused to deny his homosexuality when taunted with gay slurs, he was viciously beaten and thrown unconscious into a pond, where he drowned.

In classic cinéma-vérité style, director Olivier Meyrou allows this emotionally wrenching story to unfold at its own pace, without unnecessary exposition or narration, in a deliberately non-sensationalist manner. BEYOND HATRED features interviews with prosecution and defense lawyers, relatives of the accused, and the parents and sister of the deceased. The latter, remarkably intimate discussions reveal the gradual process whereby the family experienced an emotional catharsis, moving from initial shock and grief to an understanding of how the deprived and prejudiced backgrounds of their son's killers generated such violence.

BEYOND HATRED concludes with a remarkable plea for tolerance and understanding, as Francois's parents read the letter they sent to the convicted killers in prison, expressing the hope that they will eventually learn to understand their crime, and encouraging their written response.

"The film does not 'debate' issues, but provides a wide variety of opposing viewpoints. In so doing, there is much theorizing... This 'theorizing' only strengthens the narrative, and offers many opportunities for discussion... highly recommended for high school through adult audiences and for libraries with curricula or audiences interested in European studies and criminal justice, but most especially for gay and lesbian and gender studies."—Educational Media Reviews Online

"A cerebral, reasoned, humanistic reflection on retribution."—The New Zealand Film Archive

"Movingly accompanies the family of Francois Chenu, a gay man murdered by three skinheads in 2002, down the road to forgiveness. Charged drama!"—Variety

"Elegiac in tone, sparse in information, Meyrou's film isn't remotely interested in pushing viewers' buttons...BEYOND HATRED is a film about tolerance...There's anger in this fly-on-the-wall look at the moments following heartbreak, but mostly an attempt at understanding the horrors of this world we live in, by both subjects and filmmaker."—Reverse Shot