Paula Whetu Jones (Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Porou) is a mother, grandmother, the Director of Whitiora Productions Ltd and a New Zealand Māori filmmaker. Paula has directed and produced a wide range of works over the last 20 years across all genres and formats. 

In 2016 Paula received a Master’s in Creative Writing at AUT. She wrote and directed Mere which is one of eight vignettes in the internationally acclaimed Waru. She wrote and directed an NZFC-funded short film called A Matter of Time (a social commentary about 5 young people) and Yellow Roses, which is inspired by the experiences her mother had when she worked in the kitchen of an Alzheimer’s Facility in Hawkes Bay. She created, wrote and directed a comedy web series called I DATE Rejects about a group of Generation X’s who are rejected by an exclusive dating agency and decide to start their own. She is also the creator, writer and director of He Ao Kotahi, an indigenous web series featuring Māori and Palestinian artists. 

Paula’s first feature film Whina, which she co-wrote and co-directed with James Napier Robertson will be released in June 2022. She has several film projects currently in various stages of development.