“The Man Who Couldn’t Cry”

Drama/ 12min / 2015

LOGLINE:

A reclusive man who collects other people’s tears forms an unexpected bond with a woman who can't stop crying, changing both their lives forever.

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“The Man Who Couldn’t Cry” is a modern day fairy tale about a lonely man, who never shed a tear in his life.

Eamon's passion for capturing emotional moments extends to collecting tears in test tubes. When he crosses paths with Emily, a young woman consumed by eternal sadness, he decides to break out of his shyness and invites her to stay with him.

Two strangers, who couldn’t be more different from each other, share an intense time together that changes their lives forever.

“Crying does not indicate that you are weak. Since birth it has always been a sign that you are alive.” (C. Bronte, Jane Eyre)

Update:

After the success of “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry”, a children’s book for adults in Esperanto has been developed with original illustrations that take the premise to a new level.

“The Man Who Couldn’t Cry” is available for streaming on PRIME:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Who-Couldnt-Cry/dp/B079Q9QQW5

and SOONER:

https://stream.sooner.de/recommended/the-man-who-couldnt-cry/m/the-man-who-couldnt-cry

Festival Participations:

Sydney Indie Film Fest Sydney, Australia October 20, 2015 World Premiere Nomination Best Female and Male Lead

Los Angeles Cine Fest Los Angeles November 17, 2015 America Premiere

Roma Cinema Doc Film Fest Rome December 9, 2015 European Premiere

Blow UP Arthouse Film Fest Chicago Chicago August 28, 2016 Chicago Premiere

Texas Ultimate Short Festival Texas December 4, 2015 Texas Premiere Winner "Best Of Festival" Nomination Best Drama Short

Indie Film Fest Switzerland Switzerland December 15, 2015

Special Mention at Snowdance Independent Film Festival

Hong Kong Art House Film Festival Hong Kong December 28, 2015

Canada Shorts Film Festival December 13, 2015 Honorable Mention

Premio Tortoreto alla Cultura June 11th, 2016

The Royal Film Festival Benton, USA March 18, 2016 Benton Premiere

Top Indie Film Awards 2016 Award Best Actor Nomination Best Short Nomination Best Director

Staunton International Film Festival Staunton; Virginia United States September 9, 2016

London Shows International Film Festival London July 7, 2016 UK Premiere

Swedish International Film Festival July 4, 2016 Scandinavian Premiere

Audience Feedback:

“Collecting tears in test tubes? Oddly poetic. This modern fairy tale hit deeper than I expected.”

“Felt like watching a delicate black-and-white poem. Two lonely souls colliding in the strangest, sweetest way.”

“A tender, offbeat fairy tale about finding someone who sees your sadness and doesn’t look away.”

“Two damaged hearts finding each other in a world of bottled tears. Quietly devastating, quietly lovely.”

“Minimal dialogue, maximum emotion. Sometimes the saddest stories are the softest ones.”

“A story about loneliness that somehow made me feel less alone. Eamon and Emily will stay with me for a while.”

“Such a strange and beautiful concept — collecting tears felt surreal, but also deeply human.”

Longer Synopsis:

In a world saturated with emotion yet starved of true connection, Eamon lives quietly on the fringes, a solitary figure who has never shed a tear. Though emotionally blocked, he is fascinated, perhaps even obsessed, with other people’s expressions of sorrow and vulnerability. He spends his days filming people at their most fragile, and carefully collecting their tears in tiny test tubes, as if trying to understand what his own body won’t release.

His life changes the day he meets Emily, a mysterious young woman who seems to cry endlessly, her sadness deep and permanent, yet oddly magnetic. When their paths cross by chance, Eamon, moved by something he can’t explain, overcomes his shyness and offers her shelter in his peculiar world.

What begins as an unlikely encounter soon unfolds into a strange and tender bond between two emotional opposites: one who can’t cry at all, and one who can’t stop. Within the monochrome walls of Eamon’s flat, they discover that healing doesn’t always come from understanding, but from simply being seen.

Shot in expressive black-and-white, "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" is a modern fairy tale that explores emotional repression, intimacy, and the fragile beauty of human connection.

As their time together intensifies, both Eamon and Emily are forced to confront their inner grief, solitude, and the delicate power of vulnerability. And in that liminal space between laughter and sorrow, something quietly magical begins to bloom.