About Jane Ross

Hi, I'm Jane Ross; a storyteller based in Wairarapa, Aotearoa New Zealand.

In 2025, I launched The Story Studio, a creative home for my work across film, writing, events, exhibitions, and community storytelling.

The Story Studio exists to uncover, preserve, and share stories that connect people to place, creativity, history, and each other. I believe stories help us make sense of the world, build understanding, and create meaningful connections within our communities.

Through The Story Studio, I create and curate projects that bring people together around stories. These include Film Talks, a platform for filmmaker conversations, curated screenings, articles, and podcasts; Wairarapa Cinémathèque, which celebrates cinema as a shared cultural experience; By Hand, a documentary film exploring creativity and craftsmanship; and Solace, an exhibition that explores loss, memory, identity, and belonging through art and personal objects.

My career has spanned education, film, media, and the arts. I trained in Film and Television Production at Avalon Studios, worked as a project manager at Learning Media Ltd, and wrote comedy scripts for The Gibson Group. I am a New Zealand-trained teacher and have taught film studies in New Zealand and overseas, including England, Italy, and the Czech Republic. I later tutored in the Media, Film, and Communication Department at the University of Otago, where I completed a Master of Arts in Film and Media with distinction.

In 2017, I founded Film Talks to help build film culture and foster meaningful connections between filmmakers, audiences, and communities. Since then, I have curated screenings, festivals, premieres, filmmaker conversations, and special events throughout Aotearoa.

Whether I'm curating a film programme, directing a festival, recording a podcast, writing an article, making a documentary, or developing an exhibition, my aim is always the same: to create opportunities for people to connect through stories.