So This Happened - Bekah and Marama

Web series So This Happened tells real stories about experiences of women in Aotearoa. The brainchild of Maha Albadrawi and Lucy Zee, it uses animation to tell stories of casual harassment — "to make it feel more palatable", as Albadwari puts it. This bite-sized episode tells the story of nine-year-old Marama choosing to ditch dresses and her long locks. Marama and her mother Bekah share the experiences Marama endured as a result, and her mum's commitment to support her through it all. So This Happened gives voice to all too familiar stories among females, in the hopes of opening up important conversations.

I just had recently started getting really sick of men getting away with gross behaviour. Like, walking in the supermarket and having a guy muttering under his breath disgusting things while he looks at your boobs, that kind of stuff. I'm just like, why does this keep happening?

– So This Happened co-creator Maha Albadrawi in a Radio New Zealand interview, 8 March 2017

Key Cast & Crew

Chris Callus

Animator

Lucy Zee

Editor, Producer, Co-Director, Creator

Maha Albadrawi

Editor, Producer, Co-Director, Creator

Marama

Narrator, Subject

Bekah

Narrator, Subject

Amie Mills

Executive Producer