The Damned Don’t Cry
From Thu 06 to Sat 22 JulFyzal Boulifa returns with this arresting melodrama – a rich, humane study of a co-dependent mother and son in hyper-conservative contemporary Morocco.
Teenager Selim (Adbellah El Hajjouji) and his mother Fatima-Zahra (Aïcha Tebbae) live in close quarters, constantly on the breadline and moving from place to place. When a trip to her family village reveals troubling secrets, the strength of their already-volatile bond is put to the test.
Remixing key elements of its 1950 Joan Crawford-starring namesake (and the narrative arc of Pasolini’s Mamma Roma) into a strange and sensuous story, The Damned Don’t Cry explores modes of transgressive sexuality, restrictive cultural expectations and the weight of colonial history. A boldly coloured and atmospheric film, tragic and beautiful, it recalls the work of Douglas Sirk and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
On-stage Conversation
The preview screening on 6 July will be followed by a conversation with director Fyzal Boulifa, as part of SAFAR Film Festival
About Fyzal Boulifa
Fyzal Boulifa is a British filmmaker of Moroccan descent. His first feature film, Lynn + Lucy (2020), won a collection of prizes at several international festivals. Fyzal was also nominated for a Critics’ Circle Film Award in 2021 for his directorial work on the feature.
