Good Stuff Made with Integrity
Whitiora Productions is a boutique production house more like a seaside bach or a glamping tent.
Based in Auckland, New Zealand anywhere thanks to the power of the inter-web! Whitiora produces real stuff, sad stuff, funny stuff, angry stuff, made up stuff - all good stuff made with integrity.
Dr Alan Kerr is a retired New Zealand heart surgeon, who spent 20 years leading medical missions to Gaza and the West Bank, performing life-saving surgeries on children and helping establish Palestine’s first independent paediatric cardiac unit. His wife, Hazel Kerr, travelled with him - bringing a different kind of healing to the people she met in Palestine.
The Doctor’s Wife - Documentary
Latest News
Disabled artists in Taiwan are redefining what dance can be - and John Ross and I, two NZ film makers, are making the film that tells that story. The Eternal City documentary follows Resident Island Dance Theatre through the making of a groundbreaking international performance premiering in November 2026.
So we are fundraising to get to the next step in the journey - Taiwan in August for more filming. Details in the link.
I was lucky enough to be invited to Taiwan to represent the film WHINA as part of The “Toitū te Māori: New Zealand Māori Historical Justice on Screen” exhibition. The exhibition kicked off Sept. 24 at the National Human Rights Museum in New Taipei City as the two partner countries continue to promote equality, justice and human rights protection for all.
According to the NHRM, the event was jointly organized with the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office Taipei. Those attending the opening ceremony included Deputy Minister of Culture Lee Ching-hwi, Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang, NZCIO Director Mark Pearson and Deputy Director Renee Bates, as well as Taiwan lawmakers and officials and private sector representatives from both sides.
During her opening remarks, Lee said promoting historical and transitional justice for Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples is a government policy priority. Through the images on display and screening of feature films and documentaries, the exhibition spotlights the historical predicament of the Māori and how they strived against adversity to defend their treasured dignity and justice.
It is hoped that the Māori experience can inspire Taiwan society to reflect on itself and serve as a reference when it comes to promoting transitional justice for the country’s Indigenous inhabitants, she added.
Last night in Auckland Alan and Hazel Kerr won the Kiwibank, Ryman Healthcare , Senior category, 2026 New Zealander of the Year.
This award honours New Zealanders aged 70+ who continue to shape Aotearoa through wisdom, action, and care. Far from winding down, they are still building legacies – using their experience to lead, serve, and make lasting impact.
The film will Screen on Sunday 30th March at 2pm at the Memorial Hall in Otaki as part of the Maorilands Film Festival grab your tickets here.
How Paula and Bree are turning tragedy into comedy
The director admits her leading lady does a better job of being her than she does!
RNZ interview with Paula Whetu Jones. 29 Feb 2024. Click on the link to hear the Interview
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018928103/our-humour-doesn-t-go-when-we-lose-our-legs-film-maker-paula-whetu-jones
Tessa Rivers' busy life is upended when a mysterious illness leaves her paralysed. Sent to Goldfield’s Spinal Unit, Tessa meets the eccentric residents but quickly decides not to get comfortable - with the help of her alter-ego 'walking Tessa', she's determined to walk again by any means necessary.
Starring: Bree Peters, Tom Sainsbury, John Landreth, Oscar Phillips
This Award recognises significant achievement with a short or feature film released in the last three years locally and/or internationally. Paula is nominated for her work in ‘Whina’.
Bree Peters takes the lead in a new comedy about being in a Spinal Unit…created and directed by Paula Whetu Jones.
Thands to Mel and Jade from the Incubator and Screen BOP. Had a lovely surprise when beautiful people Ainsley Gardiner, Roy Taoho and George Hennah joined us to give feedback to the budding screenwriters of the BOP.
Trailer unveiled for Blockbuster New Zealand Feature Film ‘WHINA’. With an all-star cast including Rena Owen, Miriama McDowell, Vinnie Bennett and James Rolleston.
I have been applying for this for years and the irony is, the project that I got in with is the very first script I wrote and have adapted constantly over the last 12-15 years. So this is special!
I cant wait to get together with my fellow filmmakers for the 5 day workshop.
Im so chuffed to be selected to participate in this workshop. The script I will be working on is The Last Padre.
The FilmUp Mentorship Programme is an eight-month professional development programme for practising writers, directors and producers. It supports and empowers up to nine practising filmmakers selected each year to reach the next stage in their film careers.
Throughout the programme each participant receives 20 hours of mentorship with an esteemed industry mentor, participates in group work & round tables, and receives wrap-around support.
WHINA (played by Rena Owen) is the story of the beloved Māori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, especially women. At nearly 80-years-old Cooper became nationally revered as the ‘Mother of The Nation’ when she led the first Māori Land March over 1,000 kilometers from Te Hapua in the Far North to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand in 1975.
Written and directed by James Napier Robertson and Paula Whetu Jones.
Cornerstone will launch worldwide sales, excluding ANZ, for writers and directors James Napier Robertson and Paula Whetu Jones’ Whina (pronounced fee-nah), out of the upcoming European Film Market.
The Ionian University, Project Partner of CIAK Project, organized the third and last weekly part of the Screenwriting Workshop in Corfu, Greece on November 26 – December 1, 2019 at the Audiovisual Arts department premises. During the three weekly workshop sessions (hosted in Ioannina, Bari and Corfu respectively), 15 ascendant cinema screenwriters from all over the world attended intensive courses and gained personal supervision towards the development of their personal scenario. After the successful organization of the last session, high-quality scenarios were developed, which are expected to be submitted in their final form by January 2020.
I was invited in Sept 2019 to be a mentor for the Sabah Film Making course in conjunction with the Kota Kinabalu Film Film Festival(KIFF) by Festival Director, Jude Day who is a New Zealander who has been living in Sabah, Malaysia since 2007
In 2009, Jude founded the KKIFF and last year they celebrated our 10th anniversary and I was lucky enough to be 1 of the 5 filmmakers who was asked to be a mentor.
Had a great night with a fantastic turn out for our Cast and Crew screening for my 2 short films, Yellow Roses and A Matter of Time. Thank you all for making it happen.
A Matter of Time has been selected to screen at the Sydney film festival. The film is a confronting and dynamic film following five teenagers as they juggle school while trying to cope with their own personal hardships. It is screening on Thursday the 13th June and Sat the 15th of June at Dendy Newton Theatre.
Māori artists immerse themselves into indigenous cultures struggling to keep their art forms alive. Click here to view series one of He Ao Kotahi - ‘Paitangi in Palestine’