Short Film: Opia
Locally Lead - Internationally Praised
Kotiri Productions is a Hastings based production company that produces high quality narrative content for screen, stage, online and community. Their focus is on selecting stories that engage audiences and uplift creatives, while building partnerships locally, nationally and internationally with industry experts to deliver any creative project.
Their philosophy is simple…tell great stories.
Kotiri Productions follows some simple principles. They aim to INSPIRE in all that we do by bringing in national and international professionals to share relevant and current thinking to encourage creatives to grow. They EDUCATE by offering a broad range of workshops and masterclasses to ensure our community continues to grow understanding and reach their potential. They RESOURCE creative practice and build meaningful RELATIONSHIPS to connect communities, individuals and organisations to reach mutual beneficial outcomes.
Feature Film: SOLITARY
They are a regionally based production company in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Established in 2016 by founders Daniel Betty and Allanah Scott who identified the importance of empowering communities and uplifting our people. They believe that sometimes communities need a little support, access to resources and inspiration to motivate their mindset.
Daniel Betty has taken on the role as Creative Director and brings a strong understanding in governance, strategy and education. He continues to support the creative sector as the chair of Eastern Screen Alliance, board member of Nga Toi Creative Hawke’s Bay, board member of Takitimu Mataurangi Council and Manager of Kahurangi Toi Ātea, National Screen Skills Training Programme.
Their production work spreads across film, documentary, commercial and stage. They use a collective approach to ensure that their team is acknowledged and supported in their mahi. Their team continues to grow, so does the creative practice in our region. In 2017,
Kotiri Productions staged VINCENT by Leonard Nimoy as part of the Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival. It had a sold out season and toured through Hawke’s Bay pre-covid. They aim to stage and tour this production in 2026. Their film work continues to grow with a broad range of high quality and award winning pieces. Twitch by Suden Lakshmanan was a short-film about an artist with an autonomous left hand that painted masterpieces.
Kotiri Productions supported through providing production advice, script development, casting and acting coaching on the project. Frisky by Stevie Goodwin was a short-film transgender story of Alex who returns home to find acceptance and the struggles this brings. This piece won a number of awards both nationally and internationally. OPIA, a short-film by Cosmo Calman was a covid inspired piece following two graffiti artists as they play a cat and mouse game finally creating a beautiful large scale mural. This project went on to be recognised for a number of awards both nationally and internationally in film festivals around the world. Kate by James Cleary was a short-film shot in the early 2000s exploring the challenges of fertility and the strain it can have on relationships. Currently, they are in post-production of their first feature film Solitary by James Cleary, a psychological thriller about a writer who escapes to the forest to complete his work but little do we know that things are more familiar than expected. This work will premiere in May/June of 2025
Elevate: Good Vibes Mural - Artist Sonia Bass
OPIA Short Film: The First Elevate Mural
Dream Big - Our Community Focus
The ELEVATE PROJECT was started in 2023 as a direct outcome of the large-scale mural generated for OPIA. The Elevate Project is an opportunity for artists to create a large-scale mural (6mx2.4m) that will be showcased in various sites throughout the Hawke’s Bay region. The OPIA mural now called GENERATION NEXT sits proudly in Napier on the corner of Station and Hastings Street. This work was created by artists Glen Colechin and Rachael Stone. They also have a work in Hastings in Albert Square called GOOD VIBES by artist Sonia Bass and continue to work with Wairoa and Central Hawke’s Bay to bring the project to their communities. The Elevate Project aims to transform urban and rural spaces to have a long lasting impression on the community. It is the ongoing work of Dream Big telling the story and building the profile of the artist in communities that has the biggest social impact for all. They see this on-going partnership between Dream Big, the artists, and our community as a responsibility to build the creative eco-system in our region.
They also produce sCene Work to provide actors, directors and crew the opportunity to create high quality short scenes. These scenes can then be used as tools for all involved to raise their profile and showcase their work. The actors are guided by Creative Director Daniel Betty through a series of workshops exploring a range of techniques, approaches to build characters and build understanding of expectations of film work. The directors are guided by James Cleary and work collectively to discuss each piece, how to work with actors and being effective on set to capture what is required. The crew continues to grow as they provide more opportunities to come together and explore different roles. They have now produced over 20 pieces and showcased these in cinemas to celebrate not only the actors’ work but all involved.
Dream Big has worked alongside a number of partners to support the development of the Kahurangi Toi Ātea, National Screen Skills Training Programme. This case study was supported through funding from the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage, curriculum development from Toi Mai the workforce development agency and enabled partnerships between the Ministry of Social development and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise. This kaupapa was founded by Share the Knowledge, a leading screen industry training body providing above and below the line workshops nationally and Firefly Films who agreed to attach an unofficial training levy to the production Holy Days. Dream Big provided support developing partnerships, writing strategy documentation and building platforms to ensure the programme was delivered effectively. Te Wānanga Whare Tapere o Takitimu was brought on as the education provider with over 40 years experience in the creative sector. As leaders in Maori performing arts they were well positioned to support Share the Knowledge to realise their vision. Dream Big was the connector and worked as the representative of Takitimu to deliver pastoral care and the assessment process. Kahurangi Toi Ātea was the name given to the programme by Takitimu. It provides a rich context of the heavenly cloak (the stars) that wraps around us and has provided inspiration for storytelling for generations. This kaupapa continues to grow as all partners explore opportunities to attach the programme to future productions.
