What KRAFTY LIMITED does

Krafty Limited, trading as Krafty Productions, is a New Zealand-based film and television production company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Lower Hutt. The company develops and produces documentaries, short films, feature films, and digital storytelling experiences, with a clear creative identity centred on authentic Māori narratives and New Zealand cultural stories. Its portfolio spans festival-recognised short films (Washday, Purea, Ministry of Jingle), a feature drama co-produced with Awa Films (Kōkā), a broadcast-backed documentary on author Joy Cowley (Joy, Full & Fearless), a science-and-society documentary on microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles (Ms. Information), and local production services for A24's horror feature X. Recurring creative leadership includes Creative Producer Verity Mackintosh and directors Kath Akuhata-Brown, Clare Burgess, and Maddie Dai.

The company's product surface has expanded from purely linear film into digital and immersive formats. Stories in our Stars (SIOS), developed with Flying Saucer and supported by the New Zealand Film Commission, is a 360° story-time platform for children pairing night-sky cinematography with Māori star legends narrated in Te Reo Māori and English; the company positions the format as replicable across indigenous cultures. Distribution and marketing run through international film festivals (Melbourne, London Cinematic Horizons, Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase, imagineNATIVE), broadcaster partnerships with RNZ, NZ on Air and NZ Film Commission funding, and global streaming platforms (Amazon Prime Video for China's Schindlers).

Revenue is generated through three streams: professional services for film production (including project deals with international studios), licensing and royalty income from film festival circuit and streaming distribution, and broadcaster licensing fees. Pricing is project-quoted rather than publicly disclosed. The business is funded primarily through New Zealand public cultural funding bodies and broadcaster commissions, with festival prize money and licensing as secondary income. Headcount is in the 1–10 range, and no revenue figures or external funding rounds have been disclosed.

Name

KRAFTY LIMITED

Legal name

Krafty Productions

Website

https://krafty.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Krafty Productions is a New Zealand film and television producer founded in 2017, developing documentaries, short films, and feature dramas centred on Māori and New Zealand cultural storytelling, alongside a 360° children's digital platform (Stories in our Stars). It serves public broadcasters, government cultural funders, and international festival and streaming audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film and Television Production Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Politics & Current Affairs Documentaries (MPADADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Short-Form Documentaries (MPADADAC), Branded Documentary / Nonfiction (Corporate & NGO) (MPADADAK)

Keywords

• Film production services
• Documentary production
• Television production
• Indigenous storytelling
• Creative development

Headquarters

HQ city

Lower Hutt

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Film Production Services: Producing documentary and narrative content for broadcasters, streaming platforms, and direct clients including RNZ and NZ on Air.
2. Film Festival Licensing: Short and feature-length films distributed through international film festival circuits with licensing fees and prize awards.
3. Broadcast Distribution: Documentary and narrative content licensed to broadcasters including RNZ and potentially other television networks.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Krafty Productions is a New Zealand-based independent film and television production company that develops, produces, and distributes documentary, feature, and short-form screen content centered on Māori stories and New Zealand narratives. Its offering spans creative development, production management, script editing, and co-production partnerships with broadcasters, streaming platforms, and international co-producers, plus the Stories in our Stars 360° immersive children's storytelling platform.

Product overview

Krafty Productions is a New Zealand film and television production company offering documentary, feature film, and short film production services, creative development, and script editing. The portfolio includes theatrical documentaries (Joy Full & Fearless, China's Schindlers), relationship dramas (Kōkā), horror features (X with A24), short films (Ministry of Jingle, Washday, Purea), and an innovative digital storytelling platform (Stories in our Stars - a 360° immersive experience for children). The company works with partners including RNZ, NZ on Air, Awa Films, and the New Zealand Film Commission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Joy, Full & Fearless A 1-hour exclusive documentary following the trauma and triumph of Joy Cowley's life as New Zealand's prolific author of adult and children's fiction. Produced for broadcasters RNZ and supported by NZ on Air funding.
• Kōkā A feature-length relationship drama following Māori elder Hamo and delinquent Jo who form an unlikely bond on a road trip confronting past traumas. Co-produced with Awa Films.
• Ministry of Jingle A short film about ambitious songwriter Melody who joins a government team creating public safety jingles and confronts rising floodwaters and climate anxiety.
• Washday A New Zealand short film inspired by an ancient Māori story of the wind and the power of a child's love. Multiple award winner including 2022 Wairoa Māori Film Festival Best Māori Director and 2023 BIMIFF Best Director of Short Film.
• Purea A 6-minute drama short film following Māori elder Hamo who carries the spirits of her ancestors to their sacred mountain. Released in 2020 with no dialogue, featuring Māori Karanga narration with English subtitles.
• Stories in our Stars A world-first 360° immersive story-time platform for children and adults pairing night-sky imagery with Māori legends of stars and navigation, narrated in Te Reo Māori and English with original compositions. Created with support from the New Zealand Film Commission and designed as a replicable format across indigenous cultures.
• Ms. Information A documentary following microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles, who proved to be a vital voice for Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a target of online hatred. Released September 2023.
• China's Schindlers A documentary about Chinese diplomat Dr. Feng Shan Ho and German businessman John Rabe who established a Safety Zone protecting 200,000 innocent Chinese during WWII. Distributed on Amazon Prime Video.
• Puhikura A film championing the power of Wahine Māori.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Awa FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner on Kōkā, a powerful relationship drama following Maori elder Hamo and local delinquent Jo. The film is written and directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown and produced by Verity Mackintosh and Libby Hakaraia.
• RNZ (Radio New Zealand)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-production partner and broadcaster support for Joy, Full & Fearless documentary about author Joy Cowley. Made with support from RNZ.
• Flying SaucercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner for Stories in our Stars - a world first 360° story time platform for children combining Māori legends with astronomical education. Led by Hamish Johnson (Director) and Verity Mackintosh (Creative Producer).

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kartemquin Films: Kartemquin Films is a long-standing US independent documentary producer (Hoop Dreams, Minding the Gap). It is a broader incumbent in the festival-circuit social-issue documentary space where Krafty also operates.
• A24: A24 is a US-headquartered studio that partnered with Krafty on X (Ti West, 2021/2022) as producer. It is a broader incumbent in the film/TV space — overlapping only on international production services commissioning rather than direct documentary competition.

Emerging players

• Whenua Films: Whenua Films is a smaller NZ indigenous production outfit producing short-form Māori content. It is an emerging peer with overlapping cultural-narrative positioning but a smaller festival footprint than Krafty.
• Piki Films: Piki Films is a NZ production company focused on Māori stories and indigenous perspectives. It has a narrower emerging-studio profile but overlaps with Krafty on cultural storytelling and the same funding pool.

Direct peers

• Great Southern Television: Great Southern Television & Film is a long-established NZ factual and documentary producer (Country Calendar, upcoming factual series). It is a direct competitor for NZ on Air documentary commissions and festival-grade factual content.
• Flying Saucer: Flying Saucer is the NZ creative studio partnering with Krafty on Stories in our Stars (SIOS), led by Hamish Johnson. It operates in the same Auckland/Wellington content-and-digital-experience space with comparable project scale.
• Awa Films: Awa Films is a New Zealand production company co-producing Kōkā with Krafty. It specializes in Māori-led storytelling with the same cultural and narrative focus, making it the closest direct peer for indigenous narrative film production.
• South Pacific Pictures: South Pacific Pictures is one of New Zealand's largest independent production companies (Shortland Street, Westside, The Brokenwood Mysteries). It competes for the same NZ on Air / NZ Film Commission funding pool and local directing talent as Krafty.
• Tikilounge Productions: Tikilounge Productions is a NZ documentary-focused production house producing content for Māori Television and NZ broadcasters. Its cultural-documentary focus and small-team structure make it a strong comparable to Krafty's slate.

Regional players

• Beama Films: Beama Films is an Australian documentary and factual producer focused on Pacific and indigenous stories. It is a regional peer with overlapping cultural-narrative positioning across the Tasman but a primarily Australian footprint.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/krafty-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KRAFTY LIMITED