The Official Blog for David Whittet's Motion Picture Trilogy

Hayden Searle

Hayden-Searle
Bruce Burn plays Hayden Searle, the overseas executive brought is to rescue South Pacific Power following Amiri’s sabotage. The character is named after our generous IndieGoGo supporter.

Hayden Searle supported our IndieGoGo campaign and chose as his reward to have one of the characters named after him.

We have named a pivotal character in the script after Hayden. Bruce Burn plays a successful company director brought in to rebuild South Pacific Power after Arapeta is blamed for his father’s actions and is unceremoniously sacked. Searle is a strong character who’s saved a number of companies from collapse and he’s not about to take any nonsense at South Pacific Power. But Bruce brought a dry sense of humour to the part and we developed this to bring some welcome relief to the tense boardroom scenes!

Our sincere thanks to Hayden Searle for his contribution to our film. We hope you will enjoy seeing yourself portrayed on screen!

Watch our greeting to Hayden from the set of Rere’s Children.

We've reached our funding target!



Our IndieGoGo funding campaign finishes this evening and we’ve achieved our funding goal!

Thank you so much to all our wonderful supporters, we are eternally grateful for your faith in our project!

We have some fantastic rewards for you! We are all excited about our industry first credits. Our ground breaking technology will enable the first virtual assistant director in cinema history! We are really looking forward to hosting one of our supporters on a Lord of the Rings themed holiday in New Zealand’s spectacular South Island.

I am personally delighted that an aspiring film maker has taken up our Indie Film Maker’s Package. We look forward to sharing our passion and kickstarting your career!

Your faith in us will be rewarded! We are determined to deliver a stunning film. The Amiri & Aroha trilogy will be a compelling piece of contemporary cinema that we can all be proud of!

Our IndieGoGo funding campaign reaches $2,000

Fantastic news! Our IndieGoGo campaign has reached $2,000 and we are two-thirds of the way towards our goal with 21 days left!

Thank you so much to all our supporters. We truly appreciate your faith in our project and I believe we are making a truly compelling piece of cinema.

Please keep up the good work and spread the word in the last three weeks of our campaign. Help us reach our goal and beyond! Every dollar helps us to create the film we visualize! Like us on Facebook! Tweet us! Tell all your family and friends about us! Even if you are unable to pledge, you can still help us by getting the message out to everyone you can! Thank you all a million times!

Shooting Bronwyn Kay's Scene

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Warren Philp (playing Lamonge), Bronwyn Kay, David Whittet and Assistant Director Mark Whittet

Today we filmed the scene specially written for our principal IndieGoGo supporter, Bronwyn Kay. The scene plays a pivotal role in the plot development. Amiri is on the run and has instructed his lawyer Lamonge to find a remote mansion where he can live with Aroha in secret, away from the prying eyes of his enemies. Lamonge has arranged to meet Bronwyn Kay to look for a suitably isolated property.

Bronwyn proved a natural in front of the camera. Unfazed by the bright lights, Bronwyn gave a beautiful performance, expertly handling a tense moment where she discovers the true identity of Lamonge’s client. Bronwyn has a definite screen presence worthy of a seasoned actor.

We really enjoyed working with you, Bronwyn, and we are eternally grateful to you for your contribution to the film, both on and off camera!

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Bronwyn Kay with the nervous lawyer Andrew Lamonge (played by Warren Philp) in a tense scene shot today.

Bronwyn Kay joins the Amiri & Aroha team!

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Bronwyn Kay

I am delighted to announce that Bronwyn Kay has joined our team, generously sponsoring us through our IndieGoGo campaign’s Executive Package.

All of us on the Amiri & Aroha team are eternally grateful to you, Bronwyn. We truly appreciate your faith in our project.

Bronwyn will feature in the final film of the trilogy Rere’s Children. I have written a special scene for Bronwyn. Amiri is on the run as both his enemies and the authorities catch up with him. He instructs his lawyer Andrew Lamonge, played by Warren Philp, to find him a remote mansion where he can assume a new identity and live in secret.

Lamonge visits Bronwyn at her office to find a property for Amiri. In a tense and dramatic scene, Bronwyn guesses the identity of Lamonge’s client…

Welcome to the team, Bronwyn. I sincerely look forward to working with you!

Be the first virtual assistant director in cinema history!

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Beam me up to the Amiri & Aroha set!

Central to our IndieGoGo campaign is providing all our supporters with the opportunity to experience the joys of independent film making.

For locals and those able to travel to our locations in New Zealand, we encourage you to get involved, in front or behind the camera, with one of our unique rewards.

The challenge has been to enable those unable to travel to New Zealand to take an active part in the film.

In the digital age, we are all familiar with videoconferencing. Our supporters will take this to the next level, joining us on set with an interactive video link.

I always say to assistant directors that they are the director's eyes and ears on location, keeping a sharp lookout for continuity errors that can so easily creep in on a busy shoot. Our virtual assistant directors will be able to view both the set and the video feed from the film camera remotely and alert us to potential issues.

Our groundbreaking new technology brings some industry first screen credits. Be the first virtual assistant director in cinema history!

A new music video with Tia Takarangi-Chan

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Tia Takarangi-Chan composed and performed the haunting original music for Amiri & Aroha The iconic image of Tia singing at the Rere falls appears on our DVD and Blu-ray menus and is our logo for the current IndieGoGo campaign.

I am delighted that Tia is going to write the original music for Amiri’s Child and we will make a music video during our shoot in Gisborne in July. We intended to make a music video during the shooting of the original Amiri & Aroha but regrettably time constraints conspired against us and with festival deadlines looming, we had to be content with Tia’s music tracks on the DVD menus - a kid of mini music video!

We are giving the music video priority this time with a dedicated day set aside early in the forthcoming July shoot. The music video will be released simultaneously with Amiri’s Child, as our IndieGoGo campaign reaches its conclusion!

I am delighted to have a Tia on board again and really excited about the music she is writing for Amiri’s Child. Tia is an extreme talent and I hope that the Amiri & Aroha trilogy will prove to be her big break into the music industry!

An amazing start to our IndieGoGo campaign

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We have had a fantastic response to the launch of our IndieGoGo campaign and have reached 10% of our funding goal in the first two days! Everyone on the Amiri & Aroha team sends a huge and heartfelt thank you to each of our early funders. We truly appreciate your support!

We've had some great feedback regarding our perks, especially the virtual rewards! We already have one contributor destined to be the first virtual assistant director in cinema history! I'll be covering how this technology will work in future updates, both on this blog and in the updates tab on our IndieGoGo campaign page. So stay tuned and see how you can get an industry first screen credit!

Kia ora to all our wonderful supporters! We are eternally grateful. Do please keep up the good work and spread the word to all your family and friends!

Our IndieGoGo Campaign goes live!



Please support our IndieGoGo campaign to fund completion of the Amiri & Aroha trilogy!

Amiri & Aroha has truly become a global sensation and we need your help to make the final film a stunning conclusion to the trilogy.

We’ve got some awesome rewards for our backers. Everyone who contributes to our campaign will be offered a role in the film, either in front or behind the camera, in person or via video link up. We are using the latest technology to allow those who cannot get to the film’s location to participate in the film. And this affords some absolutely unique, industry first screen credits. Be the very first virtual assistant director in cinema history!

Click on the cool widget to go to our campaign home page. Please support us if you possibly can and forward this blog to all your family and friends!

Thank you so much. Together we have the opportunity to create something really great!