Ani Palmer

Writer/director Paloma Schneideman’s coming of age drama Big Girls Don’t Cry, which premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at 2026 Sundance, is awkward from the first to the last frame, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Set in rural New Zealand in 2006, it follows 14 year old Sid Bookman as she navigates her world and burgeoning sexuality during early-era social media, cell phone use and messaging. The film is a constant reminder of what a train wreck online use has been for teens from day one. This is demonstrated in one of the first scenes, in which Sid interacts with a 30-something (aka pedophile) masturbating to her voice. Sid is curious, self-destructive, desperate to belong, has little impulse control, and has access to the web. That’s a recipe for disaster.