David Whittet's New Film

HĪKOI - ‘a Cathy Come Home for our times.’


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Ken Loach’s groundbreaking film Cathy Come Home caused shockwaves when it was first broadcast in Britain in 1966. It told the harrowing story of a fictional young family evicted from their home, putting disadvantage and homelessness into the public consciousness and on to the political agenda in an entirely new way.

David hopes that his new production Hīkoi will have a similar impact on homelessness and child poverty in New Zealand.

Some years back, David wrote a script for a screenwriting festival held by the British Film Institute. The story took an uncompromising look at child poverty and deprivation in a hard-hitting drama. The hīkoi against child poverty in Auckland in September 2014 and the child poverty debate in the lead up to the 2005 New Zealand General Election inspired David to update his screenplay with an urban Māori setting.

We are currently looking for a New Zealand production company to partner with us and bring this cutting-edge story to the screen.



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