A film 18 years in the making

The creation of the documentary film The Doctor’s Wife began 18 years ago — so long ago that all the tapes that were first used needed to be digitised. But at the end of this month it will finally premiere at the Māoriland Film Festival in Ōtaki.

Behind the camera are Paula Whetu Jones (Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Porou) and Tamara Azizian (of Armenian/Russian descent). Jones, who also directed Spinal Destination and Whina, met the distinguished heart surgeon, Dr Alan Kerr when he was profiled on Whakaata Māori. They began talking about Palestine and she felt that there was more of a story to tell about his work there. 

She and Azizian began documenting the commitment of Kerr, who after his 30 year career at Greenlane Hospital volunteered in Palestine to develop children’s cardiac services. Azizian began as a production assistant but later came to be co-director alongside Jones. Initially, there was no planned outcome for the documentary, and the project was unsuccessful in receiving funding. But the film crew saved up and went anyway. 

“There’s so many people that come and they do all this work and they do it and leave. But I think our mission was, we keep coming back, very much like Alan Kerr and his medical mission teams,” Azizian says. “Palestinians would say, just tell our story, please. That’s all we need. Share our story.” 

As they followed Kerr’s work carrying out life saving surgeries for children in Palestine, the filmmakers also noticed the important complementary role of Hazel Kerr, his wife. “Alan’s fixing their hearts and she’s fixing their souls,” Azizian puts eloquently. 

“We realised that Hazel has been living  the shadow of Dr Alan,” says Jones. “Dr Alan is amazing but is more so with Hazel by his side as she has touched so many people.” She would paint and dance with the kids.

Filming in Palestine had its political challenges, let alone its accessibility challenges for Jones who uses a wheelchair. In their initial visits where they had a crew with men, they would have guns pointed at them at the checkpoint between Gaza and Israel for filming. But once it became the Jones and Azizian team, a gender bias came into their favour and authorities became more lenient towards the “two girls with cameras”. 

The unpredictable nature of filming a documentary means “you have to be fast and strategic”, says Jones. The ability to make decisions fast is something she’s always been used to as a documentary-maker, even before she became disabled. 

The duo needed to be resourceful and creative as they were never allowed to enter Gaza. “We tried a few times,” says Jones. The cameras were handed over to people on the ground, including Hazel and Kerr’s colleagues, and tapes were sneaked out by a Sky TV journalist. Tamara describes the project as a collective film. 

“We want to show the humanity of people because that’s what we often don’t see,” says Azizian. With the time invested into their relationships with people in the West Bank and Gaza, Azizian says, “they’re our friends, they’re part of our family.” 

“Just as much as it took 18 years to do it, those people are still doing the same things as well,” says Jones. She’s happy to let the film out into the world and hopes it will have a life of its own, generating conversation and raising funds to help get New Zealand medical teams over to Palestine. 

The Doctor’s Wife premieres at Māoriland Film Festival on Sunday March 30 at 2pm at Memorial Hall in Ōtaki. The film is free to screen following the preview and can be obtained by contacting their Facebook page. A QR code at the end of the film gives viewers the opportunity to donate towards the New Zealand medical team providing aid in Gaza. 

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