The Secret of the Grain

The Secret of the Grain
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Abdellatif Kechiche
Written by	Abdellatif Kechiche Ghalia Lacroix
Produced by	Claude Berri Pierre Grunstein Nathalie Rheims Jérôme Seydoux
Starring	Habib Boufares Hafsia Herzi Farida Benkhetache Abdelhamid Aktouche Bouraouïa Marzouk Sabrina Ouazani Olivier Loustau
Cinematography	Lubomir Bakchev
Edited by	Camille Toubkis Ghalia Lacroix
Distributed by	Pathé Distribution
Release dates	3 September 2007 (2007-09-03) (Venice Film Festival) 12 December 2007 (2007-12-12) (France)
Running time	151 minutes
Countries	France Tunisia
Language	French
Budget	$9.1 million
Box office	$14.7 million[1]

The Secret of the Grain (French: La graine et le mulet, lit. 'the grain and the mullet'), titled Couscous in the UK, is a 2007 Franco-Tunisian drama film directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. The film stars Habib Boufares as an aging immigrant from the Maghreb whose ambition to establish a successful restaurant as an inheritance for his large and disparate family meets sceptical opposition from the French bureaucracy.

The French title of the film refers to a "grain of couscous" and to mullet, a type of small fish, both popular in Tunisian cuisine. The two ingredients constitute both the staple of his extended family's diet and the menu on which he plans to establish his restaurant.