Men Don't Cry

Men Don't Cry invites us into the home of Mourad Chennoun in Nice, where his father spends his days fixing things in the backyard, his mother bemoans the loss of her natal village in Algeria, and the name Dounia is taboo. When his father has a stroke, Mourad is forced to rise above his fear of becoming an overweight bachelor, tied down to home by his mother's cooking, and take steps to bridge the gulf between his family and estranged sister Dounia. This quest takes him to the Paris suburbs where he starts his teaching career, falls into the world of undocumented Algerian toyboys and discovers that Dounia has become a staunch feminist, aspiring politician and fierce assimilationist. Can Mourad adapt to his new, fast-paced Parisian life and uphold his family's values? A poignant coming-of-age story from the widely-acclaimed author of Just Like Tomorrow.

Faïza Guène is a French writer and director. She was born in France in 1985 to parents of Algerian origin. Spotted at a writing workshop at the age of 15, Faïza made an astonishing literary debut with the international bestseller, Kiffe kiffe demain (Hachette Littératures, 2004), which has been translated into over thirty languages. This was followed by two further novels Du rêve pour les oufs (Hachette Littératures, 2006) and Les gens du Balto (Hachette Littératures, 2008). Faïza has acquired a reputation as one of France's most unique contemporary literary voices. Faïza also writes for Film and TV, and is currently one of the principal writers on Disney Europe's series Oussekine.