Cairo Bodybuilders and Bouncers Take Centre Stage in 'Big Boys Don't Cry'

Egyptian bodybuilders and nightclub bouncers sit at the centre of Big Boys Don't Cry, a new film that mixes documentary and scripted fiction. The film premiered at Egypt's El Gouna Film Festival, Variety reported on 20 October.

Director Muhammad Mustapha built the film around a group of Cairo bodybuilders who also work the doors of nightclubs. The film is a docu-fiction hybrid, a form that blends footage of real life with scenes that are scripted. The result sits somewhere between a documentary and a drama.

The central figure is Abdullah Al-Araby, who works as a bouncer when he is not in the gym. Mustapha spent 10 years on his journey with the bodybuilders, according to a Variety review published on 23 October. That is a long time to follow a group of men through their training and their working nights.

The film is divided into chapters, and the first is called "Perform." The second is called "Construct." Each chapter title points to a different side of the men's lives, the stage and the body they build.

One moment in the film stands out. When Al-Araby and his friends are asked what acting roles they would like, all of them choose villains and mob bosses, the same review reports. It is a light moment, coming from men whose nights are spent keeping order at club entrances.

Festivals such as El Gouna often serve as an early stop for independent films. They give filmmakers a first audience, and they bring sales agents and buyers into the same rooms. Whether Big Boys Don't Cry will travel to other festivals or find distribution has not been announced.