Banana in a Nutshell

Roseanne Liang's documentary Banana in a Nutshell tells the story of her romance with Stephen Harris. After falling in love at university, everything seemed perfect for the pair. Enter Liang’s traditional Chinese parents, and suddenly the prospect of her marriage to a Pākehā got a lot more complicated. In this excerpt, Liang guides viewers through her childhood, romance, and threatened disownment by her parents. Liang added an extended epilogue when her award-winning film hit DVD. The couple's story was later fictionalised for Liang’s 2011 feature My Wedding and Other Secrets. 

At the end of the day, Banana in a Nutshell is simply my love story. It’s a story that I know isn’t uncommon, and I bare my heart in the hope of finding sympathetic, and empathetic others.

– Director Roseanne Liang, in the catalogue for the 2005 NZ International Film Festival

Key Cast & Crew

Richard Harling

Cinematographer

Zane Holmes

Co-Producer, Editor, Camera, Co-Director

Roseanne Liang

Director, Writer, Subject, Editor, Producer

Renee Liang

Subject

Briar March

Subject

Jochen FitzHerbert

Subject