Synopsis: Big Boys Don’t Cry is a spoken word piece written and directed by Joe Byrne. Its aim is to tackle the subject of male emotional vulnerability and some of the ideas of what it means to be a man in society today, by going straight in and dismantling the commonly used phrase “Big Boys Don’t Cry”. Its main objective is to smash the false idea and belief that men and boys should not show emotion, or by in doing so they are somehow weak or inadequate. It touches on subjects such as suicide, loneliness, isolation and the social conditioning that shaping the generations of males now growing up amongst us. It is a call to action for men to open up and not to be afraid to express themselves freely.
It is estimated that in 2015 in the UK and Ireland alone there were 6,639 suicides and of those 4,997 were males.

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Big Boys Don’t Cry is an unfiltered exploration of some of the issues that hold men from truly expressing their own authenticity. it came to be as a result of countless honest open conversations with men and boys over a number of years. These conversations explored the topics and issues that has held them back throughout their lives. One thing became hugely apparent as a result of these conversations, that almost all of these men and boys were afraid to honestly express their emotions openly. This film was made with the hope of reaching and speaking to those whom are still caught in their old way of living by concealing their emotions from the world, and it is an effort to speak to those continue to encourage men to hide their emotions, in a way of laying out how detrimental it is to their mental health.

Joe Byrne is an international, multi award winning, poet, writer, actor and filmmaker from Dublin in Ireland. In the modern world of performance poetry, being able to write and articulate at a high level is essential. Joe’s multidisciplinary skillset sets his work apart. Joe is able to take things the next level by starring in and directing his own videos, which has helped him launch his work to a much wider audience. Joe’s films and poetry are dominated by prominent social issues such as mental health, homelessness and modern relationships.
In 2018 he wrote “Big Boys Don’t Cry”, which went on to win first prize in the inaugural Video Poem category at the Doolin Literary Festival. In June 2020 it was awarded first place in BCC Evolution Mental Health and Suicide Awareness Film Festival in Denver, Colorado and in May 2020 it was a runner up in the TEEB TV Mental Health Film Festival, Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia. The video itself has amassed over 150,000 views to date.
Joe is an active member of the performance poetry scene in Dublin, earning him Circle Sessions’ Poet of the Year 2018, and he was the overall winner of Circle Sessions’ Poetry Day Ireland Competition 2019.

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