Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel says plans for a movie on the mosque attacks in the city are a travesty.
The film - called They are Us - is in the planning stages but will focus on the response by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to the attacks two years ago.
Dalziel said there is incredible respect for the Prime Minister's response, though it is a story, but not the main story.
Meanwhile, a petition launched on Friday night seeking to have the project cancelled, had been signed by more than 40,000 people earlier today.
It was set up by the National Islamic Youth Association who said it sidelines the victims and survivors and instead centres on the response of a white woman.
It called on the funders, producers and the New Zealand film industry to boycott the film and urges Ardern to publicly denounce it.
The Prime Minister released a statement yesterday saying that film-makers did not consult her in any form about their plans.