Logline
When asked to play himself for the camera, the bodyguard Yehia, thinks he owns the frame and fills it with his everyday raw masculine performance. He doesn’t know that the filmmaker has completely different intentions. This is the story of two men, two performances, two realities, and two masks taken off.
Note
BIG BOYS DON'T CRY is a cinema verite film that includes both the story and the form through which it is told in its narrative structure. The film paints a portrait of its protagonist, Yehia, as he constructs his masculine identity, performs it, and hides his vulnerability behind it. This is brought to screen through the filmmaking process itself, and through the dynamics between him and the filmmaker who observes him, interacts with him, and then reflects on himself as a filmmaker, and as a man. Both lines are intertwined together and juxtaposed with each other.
Jury Statement
A project made out of necessity; a self-exploration journey for both the filmmaker as much as it is for the main character, voicing their own! Surrounded by an outstanding and courageous team, and trusting their creativity and professionalism the 2020 Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung for International cooperation goes to the countless boys and men who are forced to suppress their inner selves.
