Best of Fest Encore Screening
After his well-received feature debut Lynn + Lucy, Fyzal Boulifa, a UK director of Moroccan heritage, combines melodrama, neo-realism and sexual frankness to compelling effect in the story of a single mother and her teen son on the fringes of society in The Damned Don’t Cry. Both the story and the title have the feeling of latter-day (but more explicit) Douglas Sirk films, or for that matter, R.W. Fassbinder in his Sirk period. Fatima-Zahra, a sex worker, and her adolescent son Selim move from place to place, forever trying to outrun the latest scandal she’s caught up in. When Selim discovers the truth about his past, Fatima-Zahra vows to make a fresh start. Arriving in Tangier, they each find new opportunities that promise the legitimacy they crave — but not without threatening their fragile love for one another. Especially as Selim follows his mother’s path, becoming a houseboy for a rich Frenchman while Fatima-Zahra finds religion. Winner, New Voices New Visions, Palm Springs Film Festival –Alissa Simon
Director Biography
Fyzal Boulifa is a British filmmaker of Moroccan descent, born in Leicester, England in 1985. His short films have appeared at the Cannes Film Festival and been nominated for BAFTA awards. His feature films include Lynn + Lucy (2019) and The Damned Don’t Cry (2022).