Karen Sidney

A visit to the set of Geoff Murphy film The Quiet Earth motivated Karen Sidney to work in the screen industry. One of her first jobs was in the art department for 1985 miniseries Heart of the High Country. She went on to join a filmmaking course run by Ngāti director Barry Barclay, then moved into documentary, producing A Whale's Tale. She also wrote award-winning Cliff Curtis drama Kahu & Maia. In 2002 Sidney helped develop Aroha, a series of love stories in te reo. She also co-produced, and wrote episode Mataora. Sidney has spent time lecturing in film studies in Whangarei, and working at Creative Northland.

[Aroha] was dreamed up by Joanna Paul, Melissa Wikaire and myself as we gathered one night to mourn the loss of friend Cherie O'Shea, and over chocolate martinis we said 'there is not enough love in the world' ... Karen Sidney, on the birth of Aroha, a series of contemporary love stories