Peccadillo Pictures to Release Paloma Schneideman’s Big Girls Don’t Cry in UK and Irish Cinemas
Peccadillo Pictures announced on 20 October 2026 that Big Girls Don’t Cry, the acclaimed debut feature from New Zealand writer-director Paloma Schneideman, will be released in UK and Irish cinemas from Friday 27 November. The film carries a runtime of 99 minutes and a 15 certificate according to the supplied notes for editors.
The film first premiered at Sundance before securing its UK premiere at BFI Flare. It went on to win the Grand Prix at Biarritz’s Nouvelles Vagues festival. Actor and director Kristen Stewart presented the award and stated, “I loved this film with my whole heart.” Upon opening in New Zealand the film earned critical acclaim. The Guardian described it as “Deeply satisfying” and awarded four stars while observing that “Schneideman gets the small moments just right.”
The story unfolds over the summer holidays in rural New Zealand in 2006. Fourteen-year-old Sid finds herself with little to occupy her time after her father has checked out. Her only connection to a larger world arrives through a borrowed MSN account. Online and in person she watches older teens navigate life with apparent ease and tries on their attitudes like borrowed clothing. Her feelings mix envy with an attraction she lacks words to name.
Newcomer Ani Palmer gives a fearless lead performance as Sid. She stars alongside Noah Taylor, recognised for his roles in Peaky Blinders and Almost Famous, and Rain Spencer, known from Good Girl Jane and The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Writer-director Paloma Schneideman drew on her personal adolescence when creating the film. She remarked, “Somewhere, in some patch of bush in some country, there’s a girl doing something she doesn’t want to do, just to be accepted by people she doesn’t even like.” She added that the film holds up a mirror to that time without moralising. Mentor Jane Campion reminded Schneideman that the character Sid required an innate charisma so that audiences would find her fascinating even when doing nothing. Schneideman discovered this quality in Ani Palmer after watching her first tape for seven seconds.
In her director’s note Schneideman explains she made the film for her 14-year-old self not for comfort but for catharsis. The work addresses those still bearing scars from coming of age where shame lives and desire and danger blur. It explores the liminal spaces between girl and woman, consent and non-consent, being desired and being seen. Schneideman describes the protagonist Sid as a girl who wants so badly to be seen and chosen that she hides inside false versions of herself. She mimics seduces and provokes while performing identities like costumes. The director aimed for a film that tells the truth without flinching or moralising and that holds discomfort long enough to reveal what lies underneath. She observes that this kind of film is not often made in New Zealand which is why she felt compelled to create it. The story resists resolution and dwells in the ambiguity of queer adolescence. It sits in murky places and listens because growing up means asking to be loved gently and fully without earning it. The film remains both personal and political and vulnerable by design.
Since 2000 Peccadillo Pictures has specialised in showcasing LGBTQ+, independent and world cinema. The company highlights new voices through diverse and thought-provoking films that audiences might otherwise not see. It maintains a strong reputation for distributing award-winning independent films, documentaries and shorts with a focus on stories exploring sexuality, gender identity and cultural diversity. Peccadillo continues to expand the visibility of LGBTQ+ cinema nationally and internationally while supporting emerging filmmakers and distributing through cinema, television, home entertainment, digital platforms and its own streaming service.
The production credits name Vicky Pope and Thomas Coppell as producers with Jane Campion and Philippa Campbell as executive producers. Technical specifications include a run time of 99 minutes and a certificate rating of 15. The short synopsis describes how over one transformative summer 14 year-old Sid discovers desire, identity and the internet as she imitates the people she longs to be loved by.
