Small town NZ, one sweltering summer. 13 year-old Sid Bookman starts to hang out with a ‘more experienced’ crowd, and with this, grows aware of her burgeoning sexuality. As New Year approaches, Sid is pushed to her limits in order to find acceptance, as she stumbles towards adulthood.

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Coming of Age Drama

Reference films – Lady Bird, Call Me By Your Name, Eighth Grade

Big Girls Don’t Cry (it’s name taken from the popular Fergie song playing on the radio in 2006) is a semi-autobiographical story about a girl who wants to be seen as an adult by everyone, but still needs her father to love her like a child. Set over one summer in the nostalgic early 2000’s, it’s a coming of age story that looks at female shame, womanhood, sexual identity, the relationships that shape us, the actions that define us, and the emotional roller coaster that is adolescence. 

Developed in association with Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga New Zealand Film Commission.