‘Rip it open’: Big Girls Don’t Cry director explores wounds of early love in film festival hit
Director Paloma Schneideman’s debut film, 'Big Girls Don't Cry,' explores the complex and often uncomfortable nuances of consent and coming-of-age in early 2000s New Zealand. The film has received critical acclaim at festivals for its honest portrayal of teenage experiences.
Why it matters
Highlights cultural discourse surrounding consent and the representation of queer identity in contemporary cinema.
Paloma Schneideman, right, on the set of Big Girls Don't Cry. Photograph: Jen Raoult Paloma Schneideman, right, on the set of Big Girls Don't Cry. Photograph: Jen Raoult New Zealand ‘Rip it open’: Big Girls Don’t Cry director explores wounds of early love in film festival hit Director Paloma Schneideman explores issues of consent and queerness in coming-of-age film set in New Zealand
Prefer the Guardian on Google I n Big Girls Don’t Cry, the New Zealand coming-of-age film quietly devastating film festivals, there is a scene on a moonlit beach. It features the main character, Sid, played by Ani Palmer, and one of the cool older city boys who has come to the small, golden-sand town of Ōmaha for the summer. It is a deeply relatable, deeply uncomfortable watch; reliving the teenage negotiation – or not – of consent feels unsettling and validating.
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