Great turnout for Wairoa screening of film about Kiwi doctor saving lives in Palestine
The Doctor's Wife follows retired NZ cardiac surgeon Alan Kerr bringing much needed heart surgery to the children of Gaza and his wife Hazel's connections with Palestinian youth through art and dance.
Issue 17: Monday, May 12, 2025
Mōrena. Before I get into this week’s newsletter topic I just have a bit of admin to cover for you. Mainly to give a bit of a heads up that subscription prices are going to be going on on May 23. Current paid subscribers won’t be impacted as the new price will only apply to people who start a paid subscription after this date. This is also to allow time if you have been thinking about subscribing and supporting my work you can subscribe at the old rate of $7 a month or $77 annual before May 23. After this date subscription cost will be $8.50 a month or $95 annual - there is a slight discount for the annual subscription price. Free subscription option is always still available but this will only give you access to the occasional public post.
REVIEW: The Doctor’s Wife
Directed by Paula Whetu Jones and Tamara Azizian
YOU play to your strengths so if you are a cardiac surgeon that's what you do to help, says retired paediatric cardiologist Alan Kerr in the documentary The Doctor’s Wife, which follows the journey of he and wife Hazel helping Palestinian children receive life saving heart surgery.
And when you are a film-maker you make a documentary. That's what Aotearoa director Paula Whetu Jones did and the resulting documentary The Doctor's Wife premiered at the Maoriland Film Festival in Ōtaki this year.
The film follows three children on a journey out of conflict stricken Gaza to East Jerusalem to get lifesaving heart surgery. The Wairoa Museum hosted a free screening of the documentary followed by a Q&A session with Whetu Jones.
The Doctor's Wife was 17 years in the making since Whetu Jones' initial visit to Palestine with the Kerr's and co-directed by Russian-Armenian filmmaker Tamara Azizian.
“Some of the feedback received was how inspiring they found Dr Alan Kerr and his wife’s commitment to Palestinians and the director’s gentle yet impactful manner in how she humanised Palestinians and the very difficult challenges they face every day for basic needs that we take for granted and what a generous and caring people they are.” - Rewa Harker of Wairoa.
The documentary features three young patients on their journey from the conflict stricken Gaza on the complicated journey to East Jerusalem for surgery – which includes a long walk through military guarded checkpoints. Often the parents are not permitted to go with the children and they have to go with a grandparent instead.
The documentary also follows Hazel who as she says, “keeps herself busy” while her husband does his life saving work. But her work with the women, children and youth of Gaza turns out to be just as impactful on the people. She does workshops with women, teachers dance at a school for the deaf and works with teens at a refugee camp.
The project received no funding and was completed with the help of community donations.
“I’ve tried to highlight social issues through documentary filmmaking for 25 years but have always struggled to obtain financial backing and this project was no different. We provided most of the funding for the film ourselves but it’s completion was made possible by generous donations of time and money by a small number of donors,” Whetu Jones says.
Although The Doctor’s Wife was accepted into DocEdge Festival and another film festival in Melbourne, she chose distribution autonomy. Community screenings have been the main way to get the film out to as many people as possible. The community screenings free to make it more accessible but she is grateful for any koha received - 50 percent of koha received goes to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund – a charity set up by Alan and Hazel to enable New Zealand medical teams to travel to Palestine and continue to help children needing medical attention.
Whetu Jones says she first discovered Alan's work through a friend and former patient of the doctor and just rocked up to his house and went from there.
The first of three trips to Palestine was in 2007, but a fourth trip in 2010 was cancelled when Whetu Jones became ill with a rare autoimmune condition which left her paralysed and wheelchair bound.
Co-director Tamara Azizian lead the project in her absence.
“I made it back in 2012, but being in a wheelchair made life very difficult and it was only with the warmth and support of the Palestinian people that I was able to carry on with the film,” she says.
In 2013, tragedy struck again when Whetu Jones’ 22-year-old so died and she shut down for a year from the grief.
The project was re-energised in 2016 when she made two arts documentaries in Palestine and used the time to do further filming for The Doctor’s Wife. Post production was carried out in 2023 and the film completed in March this year.
Wairoa woman Rewa Harker organised the local screening hosted by the Wairoa Museum after being contacted by a friend from the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa.
“I liked the idea of screening it at the Wairoa Museum. The surroundings sat well with the kaupapa and Clare Butler, the director, was so supportive,” she says.
“I was so thrilled with the turnout. We had a full house and given there was only a short window to promote the documentary I was really pleased so many people knew about it and came along.
“Some of the feedback received was how inspiring they found Dr Alan Kerr and his wife’s commitment to Palestinians and the director’s gentle yet impactful manner in how she humanised Palestinians and the very difficult challenges they face every day for basic needs that we take for granted and what a generous and caring people they are.”
Alan and Hazel, who are now “properly” retired at 85 and 90, could not attend the Wairoa screening but a prerecording video message from their Auckand home was played from them after the documentary ended.
And while they are no longer actively traveling to Palestine their charity PCRF continues and they hope to be able to send medical teams over again once the border opens back up.
The current conflict in Palestine has seen Israel cut off Gaza’s borders making it very difficult for humanitarian aid to get in to help the people who are suffering.
PCRF is a secular, non profit, non-political organisation dedicated to healing the wounds of war, occupation and poverty in the Middle East, regardless of their nationality, religion, race or gender.
Anyone can organise a free screening of the documentary anywhere in the country or even in your home. Go to www.whitioraproductions.com to request a copy of the documentary.
Ngāti Kahungunu Marae Wero: Iron Māori - Sunday, May 25: Mitre 10 park, Hastings, Hawke’s Bay. Register at IRONMĀORI.CO.NZ
Frasertown Pig Hunting competition - Sunday, June 1: Frasertown Hunting Club at Kiwi Transport Yard, State Highway 38, opposite the dairy. Get in touch with Frasertown Hunting Club before May 29, 5pm, to register.
Wairoa Matariki Whānau Concert - Friday, June 6, 6-8pm: Wairoa Community Centre. In addition to the concert the event will include a lantern ceremony, maumahara, food and produce stalls and the finale of the annual fireworks display.
Matariki Glow Show - Monday, June 23: 10am and 11.30am sessions and Tuesday, June 24 - 10am and 11.30am sessions at The Gaiety Theatre. Tickets can be purchased from Wairoa i-Site and the Gaiety Theatre. General entry is $10, children 3 years and under are $5, babies under 18months FREE with a paying adult (sit on lap).