IN UK & IRISH CINEMAS 27 NOVEMBER 2026
Acclaimed New Zealand coming-of-age drama Big Girls Don't Cry, the feature debut of writer-director Paloma Schneideman, arrives in UK and Irish cinemas on 27 November 2026, courtesy of Peccadillo Pictures.
Executive produced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Jane Campion (The Piano, The Power of the Dog), the film has already attracted considerable attention on the international festival circuit, premiering at Sundance before receiving its UK premiere at BFI Flare.
It subsequently won the Grand Prix at France's Nouvelles Vagues festival in Biarritz, where actor and filmmaker Kristen Stewart presented the award, declaring:
"I loved this film with my whole heart."
The Story
Set during the summer holidays in rural New Zealand in 2006, the film follows fourteen-year-old Sid, played by newcomer Ani Palmer, as she navigates the uncertainty and confusion of adolescence.
With an emotionally distant father and seemingly endless days stretching ahead of her, Sid finds an escape through a borrowed MSN account and the company of older teenagers whose confidence and independence she desperately admires.
As she attempts to reinvent herself in their image, Sid begins to explore friendship, identity, desire and belonging, discovering that growing up is rarely as straightforward as it appears from the outside.
Alongside Palmer, the cast includes Noah Taylor (Almost Famous, Peaky Blinders) and Rain Spencer (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Good Girl Jane).
A Personal Coming-of-Age Story
Drawing upon her own experiences of adolescence, Schneideman has crafted a deeply personal story about the uncomfortable space between childhood and adulthood, examining the desire to fit in and the compromises young people sometimes make in pursuit of acceptance.
The writer-director describes her intention as portraying those formative years without judgement, acknowledging the contradictions, confusion and emotional vulnerability that accompany growing up.
"I made Big Girls Don't Cry for my 14-year-old self. Not for comfort, but for catharsis."
Schneideman also credits mentor Jane Campion with helping her recognise the importance of finding the right performer to portray Sid. Campion encouraged her to seek an actress with an instinctive screen presence, someone capable of holding the audience's attention even during the quietest moments.
That quality emerged almost immediately during Ani Palmer's audition. Schneideman recalls recognising the young performer's stillness, vulnerability and natural charisma within seconds of watching her first audition tape.
Finding a Voice
For Schneideman, Big Girls Don't Cry is more than a nostalgic portrait of teenage life. It is also an exploration of queer adolescence, shame, emotional vulnerability and the difficult distinction between being noticed and genuinely being understood.
In her director's statement, she explains that the film deliberately avoids easy answers or conventional resolutions, preferring to explore the uncertainties that shape identity during those formative years.
She also sees the project as an opportunity to introduce a different perspective into New Zealand cinema, one that places emotional honesty and female experience at the centre of its storytelling.
The result promises an intimate and uncompromising examination of adolescence, filled with the awkwardness, vulnerability and longing that accompany the search for identity and acceptance.