Fyzal Boulifa

Fyzal Boulifa (born 1985) is a British filmmaker. Born in Leicester to Moroccan immigrant parents, his early work includes the short films The Curse and Rate Me (2015), the former of which earned a BAFTA nomination. Boulifa made his feature film debut with Lynn + Lucy (2019). This was followed by The Damned Don't Cry (2022).

Early life and education Boulifa was born and raised in Leicester to Moroccan parents who worked as nursing assistants and later ran an ice cream van. Boulifa recalls skipping college once, during which he stumbled upon Carl Theodor Dreyer's Day of Wrath at Leicester's only arthouse cinema. He initially aspired to be a film critic, influenced by reading Robert Bresson's Notes on the Cinematographer. Both short films won the Illy Prize for Best Short Film at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section.

Boulifa made his feature film debut with Lynn + Lucy, which premiered in 2019 and had a wide release in 2020. The film is a social-realist narrative about two working-class women from Essex, which initially surprised audiences given Boulifa's background as a gay British Moroccan who grew up in Leicester and lived in Paris at the time. The film received critical acclaim, challenging perceptions of identity and environment. In 2023, he released his second feature, The Damned Don't Cry. Set in Morocco, the film follows a mother and son living in poverty, navigating lives of exploitation and shame. Rate Me (2015)

Feature films

Lynn + Lucy (2019) The Damned Don't Cry (2022)

Personal life Boulifa is gay. As of July 2023, he lives in South London.