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New Film from "Kumu Hina" Team to Premiere in Washington, DC and Los Angeles
- Posted on 14th May
- Category: news
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"A Multimedia Community Educational Campaign for Gender Diversity & Inclusion" - The Communication Initiative Network
- Posted on 24th Apr
- Category: news
The Kumu Hina Project
“Our mutual goal was to have Hina tell her story in her own words, creating a personal narrative that would organically inform and engage viewers about Hawaii's tradition of embracing gender diversity." - "Kumu Hina" filmmakers
The Kumu Hina Project is a multimedia community educational campaign for gender diversity and inclusion rooted in Hawaiian culture. "Kumu Hina" is a documentary film about the struggle to maintain Pacific Islander culture and values within the Westernised society of modern day Hawaii, United States (US). It is told through the lens of a Native Hawaiian who is both a proud and confident mahu, or transgender woman, and an honoured and respected kumu, or teacher, cultural practitioner, and community leader. Revolving around the film and curricular tools to spark discussion and learning within the school context, the initiative offers a model of the advantages diversity brings to the entire community and the importance of understanding and preserving indigenous culture. Exploring topics ranging from bullying to colonialism, from the importance of parental acceptance and support to the difficulties of holding onto Pacific Islander values, "Kumu Hina" is designed to appeal to everyone who seeks a more just and peaceful world.
Communication Strategies:
The 1 hour and 17-minute-long film traces the evolution of a real person, Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu (Hina), from a timid high school boy to her position as a married woman and cultural director of a school in one of Honolulu's grittier neighborhoods. The documentary opens with the stereotypical scene of Hawaii: palm trees and surfing. Then, it turns to Halau Lokahi Charter School, a Hawaiian culture-learning environment. Students at Halau Lokahi learn to hula and preserve their native heritage. "Kumu Hina" stands for kumu, or dance instructor. One of Hina's sixth-grade students, Ho'Onani Kamai, is considered to be in the middle, neither male nor female, like Hina. As Hina contemplates who should lead the school's all-male hula troupe, Ho'onani (who is proud to be seen as a mixture of boy and girl) presents herself as a surprising candidate. As teacher and student, both of whom are very comfortable in their skin despite being considered different, prepare for a climactic end-of-year dance performance, they meet many obstacles but hold fast to the idea that being true to oneself matters most. The film also delves into Hina's pursuit of a dream of her own: a fulfilling romantic relationship. Her marriage to a headstrong Tongan man, and the challenges they encounter, offers a deeper understanding of the true meaning of "aloha": love, honour, and respect for all. Hina's husband, Haemaccelo Kalu, is worried about how others perceive him and that people would think he was homosexual since he married a mahu. Throughout the film, Hina also struggles with her identity in their marriage; she feels as if she has to play a role as a wife even though she does not want to embrace that gender identify.
The film has been screened around the world. The major distribution channel has been public television in the US (on Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS), but it has also played at over 100 film festivals around the country and world. There have also been screenings connected to advocacy events. For instance, in December 2016, transgender activists, government representatives, community representatives, diplomats, and United Nations (UN) experts gathered in Islamabad at the UN Information Centre to discuss the educational, economic, and health issues facing the transgender community in Pakistan. Jointly organised by the High Commission of Canada and the UN Information Centre, the panel discussions were followed by the screening of "Kumu Hina". (Though officially accepted and even recognised in the that country's identity cards, the transgender community in Pakistan suffers from serious stigma and discrimination. Often rejected by their families, transgender people have very little access to the labour market and proper healthcare. Therefore, transgender people end up living in very difficult conditions and are frequently subject to violence in many different ways.) To read a message from the film's creators about how they have carried out outreach, distribution, and engagement for "Kumu Hina", click here.
Organisers have developed tools to use with both the full documentary "Kumu Hina" and a shorter children's film called "A Place in the Middle", for students from kindergarten through graduate school. The Kumu Hina educator's guide [PDF]can guide teachers in showing, and engaging in dialogue about, the film in classes on a variety of topics, including Gender, Women's Studies, Ethnic and Cultural Studies, Sexuality, Health, and Film Studies. The film can be used to discuss: the power that comes from understanding one's own culture and respecting the cultures of others; the Hawaiian concepts of mahu, gender fluidity, and inclusion; the benefits of diversity to individuals, schools, and the broader community; the true meaning of aloha and its core concepts of love, honour and respect; how contact with Westerners altered Native Hawaiian culture, contemporary attempts at revival and preservation, and the benefits of preserving indigenous knowledge and perspectives; ways to empower gender creative youth and prompt schools and other institutions to be inclusive of students across the gender spectrum; and how to help families, communities, policymakers, and other leaders understand that all people deserve acceptance, inclusion and equal treatment. Visit the Kumu Hina website for more details about how educators can use the film, as well as to sign the "Aloha Pledge".
"A Place in the Middle" (see below) is a shorter (24-minute-long) children's version of Kumu Hina, telling Ho'onani's story through her own voice and colourful animation. "Ask your local school or your workplace to show this film as part of their curriculum or employee training program, or perhaps as a special event associated with the International Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20), International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31), Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May), or Indigenous People's Day (aka [also known as] Columbus Day). The film and accompanying educational materials are available through the "A Place in the Middle" website.
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Hawaii Film About Transgender Woman Is At Center Of Federal Debate - Honolulu Civil Beat
- Posted on 18th Apr
- Category: news
by Chad Blair - April 13, 2017:
A documentary film about a transgender woman in Hawaii that has received awards and won wide praise is being cited by a Republican congressman as a waste of government money and a reason to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting.
Maryland Republican Andy Harris made his remarks at a House subcommittee hearing where the head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was speaking with lawmakers.
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget calls for eliminating funding for CPB, which uses federal support to help fund National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. The administration also wants to cut all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
IndieWire reported late last month that the CPB head heard “mostly support” from congressional members in attendance. But that was not the case with Harris, who in addition to dissing “Kumu Hina” also identified the documentaries “he New Black” and “Baby Mama High” as inappropriate for government funding.
All three documentaries were supported by PBS’ “Independent Lens” series.
“When you produce shows like ‘Kumu Hina,’ almost a third-of-a-million-dollar investment, or ‘Baby Mama High’ (which cost) $50,000 … I have to respond to people in my district … and in fact they would resent if I was publicly funding that,” Harris said.
Harris suggested that the CPB had a political agenda in supporting the films.
Stories About Women Of Color
“Kumu Hina,” released in 2014, chronicles a year in the life of Honolulu resident Hina Wong-Kalu, a Native Hawaiian mahu, or transgender person. As a kumu (“teacher” and “community leader”), Wong-Kalu uses traditional culture to inspire her students.
“Baby Mama High,” released in 2013, is about the large number of American Latina teens who become pregnant, while “The New Black,” released in 2013, explores the battle for marriage equality in African-American communities.
“I can’t explain to the people in my district why CPB invested $302,000 in ‘Kumu Hina,'” Harris said. “You give me the explanation, how I go to my constituents and say that was a good investment of their tax dollars. I’m in a highly Republican, conservative district.”
Last week, the directors of all three films — including Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, who produced and directed “Kumu Hina” — issued a statement in response to Harris. They said the congressman unfairly attacked and mischaracterized their work.
“Each of these films focused on different stories about women of color in America,” they wrote. “We encourage viewers who appreciate seeing these and other stories of diverse, independent voices on public TV to contact their representatives. You may wish to tell Rep. Harris that you support the CPB by contacting him directly.
Hamer and Wilson, who live on Oahu’s North Shore, rejected Harris’ notion of a subversive agenda for the films.
In addition to national broadcast on “Independent Lens,” Wilson said, the Hawaii film “remains available for classroom use in public schools, colleges and universities across the country, being used primarily to help students training to become teachers deepen their understanding of diversity and inclusion.”
Said Hamer: “I think the only agenda behind ‘Kumu Hina’ is to let people know the true meaning of aloha, and to educate students about the real history of Hawaii.”
Hamer said that PBS plays an important role in Hawaii because the islands are isolated from the rest of the United States.
He noted that Wong-Kalu, commonly known as Hina, is now teaching cultural empowerment at the Oahu Community Correctional Center and the Halawa Correctional Facility. Native Hawaiians are disproportionately represented in the jail and prison populations.
Wilson said this about Harris’s criticism:
“The thing that we don’t want to be missed in this little kerfuffle is the way in which these inflammatory attacks, even when seemingly isolated or ineffective, are in their aggregate aimed at undermining public confidence in, and thereby support for, our public media, a unique outlet that helps to ensure that the full diversity of our communities are included in national conversations on the most important issues of the day, regardless of commercial appeal.”
He added, “Such attacks also divert attention from the educational value added by CPB’s relatively small investments in the production of content that would likely otherwise not see the light of day.”
According to its website, CBP has “been the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting and the largest single source of funding for public radio, television, and related online and mobile services” since 1968.
CPB estimates that about $1.35 per American is spent per year to provide “essential operational support for the nearly 1,500 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations, which reach virtually every household in the country.”
Trump’s Budget ‘Not Going To Happen’
The organization’s total funding request for fiscal year 2018 is $445 million, with most of it going to public television and radio stations and programming.
Many of those groups have other funding support — for example, funding from CPB makes up less than 1 percent of NPR’s annual operating budget.
The 2017 budget request for the National Endowment for the Arts was about $150 million, as was the request from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
To put that into perspective, consider that estimates to build Trump’s proposed wall on the Mexican border range from $8 billion to $40 billion.
Trump’s proposed budget, which must be negotiated with Congress by September, was widely panned by members of both parties.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, said last month, “The president’s budget proposal is simply that – a proposal. It’s not going to happen.”
Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal wrote a recent op-ed for The New York Times titled, “Save PBS. It makes us safer.”
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"Kumu Hina Documentary Takes Center Stage in National Debate Over PBS Funding" - Hawaii News Now
- Posted on 14th Apr
- Category: news
By Ben Gutierrez, Reporter - Hawaii News Now - April 13, 2017
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -A locally-produced and critically acclaimed PBS documentary on a Hawaiian transgender woman is now at the center of the debate over whether federal funding should be cut for public broadcasting.
President Donald Trump's proposed budget would zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports PBS. The CPB budget request totals $446 million for fiscal year 2018.
Maryland Congressman Andy Harris, a Republican, cited the locally-produced documentary, "Kumu Hina," as one of the reasons why federal funding should be eliminated.
"I have to respond to people in my district who say, you know, given what 'Kumu Hina' is about, my district doesn't care of CPB produced that," Harris said at a March 28 House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington. "In fact, they would resent if I was publicly funding that."
"Kumu Hina" is about Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a locally prominent Native Hawaiian transgender woman who is a teacher and activist. The documentary was first shown on PBS Hawaii, and then nationally. Harris questions why public funding should be used for such a film.
"You know what? Just can't fund it any more," he said. "I can't explain to people in my district why CPB invested $302,000 in 'Kumu Hina.'"
"I find it quite interesting -- and somewhat amusing -- that a little face out in the Pacific Ocean was cited as as reason for a budget cut," Wong-Kalu said in response to the uproar. She said her friends and supporters are upset that the documentary has become a focal point in the debate.
"PBS is about empowering and enabling the nominalized, marginalized voices within the diversity of our community," she said.
"The response to 'Kumu Hina' here locally has been overwhelmingly positive," said Liberty Peralta, Vice President of Communications at PBS Hawaii. "We value being inclusive and sharing multiple points of view, and 'Kumu Hina' is just one of those stories that does that."
Kumu Hina herself is hoping PBS funding will survive the budget ax.
"That is very, very unfortunate. It's regrettable," she said. "I hope that it will actually not come to pass."
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INDIE CAUCUS RESPONSE TO STATEMENTS BY CONGRESS ABOUT DIVERSE PBS DOCUMENTARIES
- Posted on 6th Apr
- Category: news
On March 28, 2017 during the Congressional Subcommittee Hearing on President Trump's plan to eliminate the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Rep. Andy Harris (R, Maryland) singled out three PBS broadcast documentary films that he thought should not have been supported by public dollars: The New Black (directed by Yoruba Richen), Kumu Hina (directed by Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer), and Baby Mama High (directed by Heather Ross).
Each of these films focused on different stories about women of color in America. We encourage viewers who appreciate seeing these and other stories of diverse, independent voices on public TV to contact their representatives. You may wish to tell Rep. Harris that you support the CPB by contacting him directly: https://harris.house.gov/contact-me.
The New Black, which aired through the national PBS series Independent Lens, tells the story of how the African-American community is grappling with gay rights in light of the the equal marriage movement and the fight over civil rights. The film documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize gay marriage. The New Black takes viewers into the pews, onto the streets, and inside family kitchens as it follows the historic effort to pass Maryland’s marriage equality bill and charts the evolution of this divisive issue within the black community.
Rep. Harris attacked and mischaracterized the film unfairly based on its written description alone without ever viewing it. He said the film was biased because in its description of the film, the local PBS station Maryland Public Television used the phrase “marriage equality.” Congressman Davis actually said “I don’t have to see [The New Black] to know it’s biased. I just have to read the description.”
In fact the film has been lauded precisely for how it treats characters on all sides of this issue, with The New York Times review stating that “the film never allows political urgency to overwhelm its individual voices” and the New York Post writing that Richen “commendably doesn’t caricature the opposition. The conservative preachers and other opponents get some time to state their case in a thoughtful way.”
Kumu Hina is film about the struggle to maintain Pacific Islander culture and values within the Westernized society of modern day Hawaiʻi. It is told through the lens of an extraordinary Native Hawaiian who is both an honored and respected kumu, or teacher and community leader, and a proud and confident māhū, the traditional term for individuals who embrace both male and female spirit. The film follows Hina as she mentors a young girl who dreams of leading her school's all-male hula troupe, and as she searches for love and a fulfilling relationship in her own life.
Kumu Hina was watched and appreciated by a wide cross-section of the American public through its broadcast on Independent Lens, for which it won the 2014-15 Audience Award. It helped curious viewers learn more about the history, culture and traditions of America's Pacific Islander communities, which are among the most under-represented and poorly understood minority groups in the country. The film's stories provide a real-life example of what Hina calls “the true meaning of aloha” - unconditional acceptance and respect for all – and help deepen understanding of gender diversity and inclusion by providing a Hawaiian cultural perspective.
Although Rep. Harris attacked Kumu Hina by telling CPB to “please remove the agenda from education,” the film and engagement campaign have actually provided much needed resources for American teachers. A Classroom Discussion Guide and clips from the educational version of the film, which are available for free on PBS LearningMedia, have been downloaded and used thousands of times by the over one million users of this trusted source of digital content. In fact,the National Education Association honored Hina, the title character in the film, with the Elison S. Onizuka Human and Civil Rights Award for “significantly impacting the achievement of equal opportunity for Asians and Pacific Islanders.” The only “agendas” of this educational work is to empower girls and all young people to achieve their maximum potential and to extend cultural understanding, a pillar of our democracy and essential to CPB’s mission.
Baby Mama High did have an agenda, but not a political one: it was part of the CPB’sAmerican Graduate initiative, tasked with using media to create dialogue around increasing U.S. high school graduation rates. The short documentary uses the story of one teenage mother, Yessenia, to illuminate rarely-discussed, but common, obstacles that parenting students must overcome to finish school. Says Representative Harris: “I haven’t seen it. I should probably see it. But then I’m not sure I want to watch something that says that someone shouldn’t get married, that it’s actually better to stay a single mother with two children instead of getting married.” Had Harris seen the film, he would have understood that its heroine was struggling with an older boyfriend’s pressure to drop out, coming to a head in an attempt at an ambush wedding on one of Yessenia’s crucial last days of school. Verite-style profile documentaries like this one can build empathy and fill in the story behind statistics—but only when they’re actually watched.
Rep. Harris’ speech is a tired ploy straight from the late 1980s and early 1990s “culture wars,” when groundbreaking PBS documentaries like Marlon Riggs’ Tongues Untied, which also featured subjects who embodied ethnic and sexual diversity, were singled out for discrimination by culturally conservative Senators seeking to impose their values on public programming as justification for defunding of the CPB and PBS. Then, as now, the criticisms were lodged publicly by representatives who had not actually viewed the programs in question nor had they experienced or researched the response in communities across America that appreciated the films. These films strengthen our democracy and help to bridge cultural and political divides. Had they taken the time to view they would have discovered high quality programming that fulfills the mission of public media “to provide programs and services that inform, educate, enlighten, and enrich the public and help inform civil discourse essential to American society.”
Besides bolstering civil society, studies show that PBS’ independent documentary programming features greater racial, gender and regional diversity among subjects and creators than any of the commercial channels. That’s because it is part of public media’s mission; rather than answering to shareholders or a bottom line.
We believe the right side to be on is that which supports democracy, diversity and free expression in public media.
Please join us in helping to keep public media alive and fulfilling its vital mission of educating, engaging and fostering dialogue across diverse communities.
Signed,
Yoruba Richen, director of The New Black
Heather Ross, director of Baby Mama High
Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, directors of Kumu Hina
The Indie Caucus Steering Committee:
Claire Aguilar (IDA), Katy Chevigny, Giovanna Chesler, S. Leo Chiang, Heather Courtney, Angelica Das, Johanna Hamilton, Tim Horsburgh, Byron Hurt, Ciara Lacy, Brad Lichtenstein, Paco de Onís, Dawn Porter, Gordon Quinn, Julia Reichert, Yoruba Richen, Pamela Yates.
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Diverse Documentaries Under Attack as Congressman Questions Public Broadcasting ‘Agenda’ -- IndieWire
- Posted on 4th Apr
- Category: news
by Michael Schneider - IndieWire
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting may have a documentary problem.
At a House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, CPB president/CEO Patricia Harrison heard mostly support from Congressional members on attendance. With House critics of funding for public broadcasting mostly absent, the focus was on how public radio and TV stations support education, veteran, health and safety issues across the country – particularly rural areas.
One Congressperson even asked Harrison how the CPB would allocate its funds if its annual appropriation was doubled from its current level ($445 million annually). The hearing came just weeks after Donald Trump’s proposed budget suggested a complete elimination of CPB funding.
The hearing was mostly devoid of fireworks, except when Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) took issue with a handful of recent documentary titles, such as “Baby Mama High,” which aired on “Independent Lens.”
Although the title gives the impression that it might be a salacious reality show, “Baby Mama High” was a short film that examined the startling stat that 52% of American Latina teens become pregnant. The doc followed the story of one young Escondido, Calif., mother whose boyfriend wants her to quit school.
Harris also took a swipe at the 2014 doc “Kumu Hina,” which follows the story of a transgender native Hawaiian woman who teaches hula and is an activist for Native Hawaiian issues.
“When you produce shows like ‘Kumu Hina,’ almost a third of a million dollar investment, or “Baby Mama High” [which cost] $50,000, which you know $50,000 pays for the healthcare of ten individuals on the Affordable Care Act,” Harris said, “I have to respond to people in my district… and in fact they would resent if I was publicly funding that. Similarly with ‘Baby Mama High.’ I read the summary here. I haven’t seen it. I should probably see it. But then again, I’m not sure I want to watch something that says someone shouldn’t get married.
“I can’t explain to the people in my district why CPB invested $302,000 in ‘Kumu Hina,'” he added. “You give me the explanation, how I go to my constituents and say that was a good investment of their tax dollars. I’m in a highly Republican, conservative district.”
Responded Harrison: “In terms of public media, the documentaries we do, the work of Ken Burns or Dr. Henry Gates, I would say in the aggregate it brings people together.”
Harrison pointed to another “Independent Lens” documentary, “Half the Sky,” which raised awareness about sex trafficking and forced prostitution around the globe. “Maybe we don’t get it right 100 percent of the time. But I’m willing to bet we get it right 90%,” she said. ” We deserve the appropriation because we can prove we make a difference in the lives of Americans, not just the 1% but a majority of Americans who can’t afford their cable bill or market solutions.”
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) took issue with Harris’ comments, arguing that her constituents might like “Kumu Hina” and “Baby Mama High.”
“My constituents may not like a lot of the programming that your constituents like,” she said. “The point is, in America I thought we had a free press, and I thought the First Amendment ruled, and I thought it was OK to disagree or agree. That’s the beauty of PBS and NPR. This zeroing out of PBS flies in the face of our democratic principles.”
Harris wasn’t done, however, attacking one more PBS “Independent Lens” documentary: 2014’s “The New Black,” which explored the fight for marriage equality in the African-American community. Harris took particular issue with the term “marriage equality.” (It should also be noted that all three docs singled out by Harris focused on different stories about women of color in America.)
“I know a lot of people who don’t like the term ‘marriage equality’ because they don’t believe anything is equal to marriage,” he said. “But this public broadcasting station chose a politically charged term and then compared those who are for it with someone who is ‘against marriage equality.’ Words have meaning. This is biased. I don’t have to see it to know it’s biased, I just read the description. This is not education, this is agenda. I beg you. If you come for government funding, you must remove as many vestiges of political agenda as you can.”
Harris said he was particularly concerned because, when running for reelection, “I don’t want an ad run against me that says I voted for funding a film that inspires ‘a tomboyish young girl to claim her place as leader of an all-male hula troupe.’ I can see the ad. That’s from ‘Kumu Hina.’ I beg you, please remove the agenda from education. This has to be neutral content. If you come for public funding and claim free press, it’s government-funded press and my citizens will resent some of the agenda. You’re absolutely right, 98% 99% of the time you get it right. But 1% poisons the well.”
Responded Harrison: “We are tasked with two things: A firewall of independence for content providers and ensure balance and objectivity. These are sometimes clashing objectives. I think overall, we’ve done pretty well.”
Founded in 1967 by the Public Broadcasting Act, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a nonprofit organization, funded by the government, to fund programming and also hand out grants to public television and radio stations to help cover some operational costs. Per its mandate, around 71% of CPB funds from Congress must go to local stations.
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UN Experts, Diplomats Demand Equal Rights for Transgenders in Pakistan with "Kumu Hina" Screening
- Posted on 21st Dec
- Category: news
Pakistan Daily Times - December 11, 2016:
ISLAMABAD: Transgender activists, government representatives, community representatives, diplomats and UN experts gathered here on Thursday at the UN Information Centre to discuss the educational, economic and health issues facing the transgender community in Pakistan.
The event was jointly organised by the High Commission of Canada and the UN Information Centre and was followed by the screening of documentary "Kumu Hina" which features the real story of Hina Wong-Kalu, a native Hawaiian transgender.
The event was attended by the Ambassador of the European Union, Jean-Francois Cautain, Resident Coordinator of UN Neil Buhne, Country Director of UNESCO Vibeke Jensen, Country Director UNAIDS Mamadou Sahko, Director UN Information Centre Vittorio Cammarota, corporate sector and community representatives and transgender activists from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Haripur, Lahore and Peshawar.
The event featured two panel discussions. The first panel focused on education and economic empowerment for the transgender community, while the second panel revolved around healthcare and protection.
A trans community representative, Maya Zaman said: "Education is the only way forward to enhance the potential of the community and have their valuable contribution to the economy."
Maya further added: "We need a national action programme for all the marginalised communities to engage them in socio economic development and we cannot have an economically strong and socially sensitive Pakistan until we achieve the full inclusion of all communities, including the trans community."
Another transgender representative, Anaya Malik said that usually family members were the first ones to abandon transgender people, leaving them vulnerable and unprotected. "The families need to be sensitised so that they accept their children's identity."
Speaking on the occasion, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Pakistan, Neil Buhne, said that Pakistan was ahead of many other countries in legally recognising trans people as a third gender but still had a long way to go in recognising their rights. "They are subjected to harassment and sexual violence. The Social Welfare Department needs to focus on this community as it is the most marginalised, and we need to do more in safeguarding their rights starting with education, access to health and social protection," he said.
Perry Calderwood, High Commissioner of Canada said: "I am pleased that we can contribute to the dialogue about transgender rights and empowerment so that transgender Pakistanis can fully participate in this vibrant society."
The Member of the National Commission for Human Rights, Ch Muhammad Shafique, said that the state provided services according to the demand. "If society raises its voice about transgender rights, the state would be compelled to respond and this is a wonderful forum to start that debate," he said The Director of United Nations Information Centre Vittorio Cammarota said, like the rest of the world, transgender people in Pakistan faced alarmingly high levels of discrimination and stigma, as well as violence, unemployment and poverty. "The aim of this event is to foster a debate on human rights issues that trans people face, and the priority actions required to secure trans people's right to dignity, education, equality, health and security," he said.
The EU Ambassador to Pakistan, Jean-François Cautain, drew parallels between the situation of trans genders in EU and Pakistan. "I think on this issue the EU and Pakistan can learn from each other," he said.
Though officially accepted and even recognised in the identity cards, the transgender community in Pakistan suffers from serious stigma and discrimination. Often rejected by their families, transgender people have very little access to the labour market and proper healthcare. Therefore transgender people end up living in very difficult conditions and are frequently subject to violence in many different ways.
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‘Kumu Hina’ film teaches lessons of love - The Slate
- Posted on 9th Nov
- Category: news
Shippensburg State University - Pennsylvania
By Marissa Merkt - Nov. 8, 2016
Aloha means more than bright leis and grass skirts; the word encompasses unconditional love to all and respect for Hawaiian culture.
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, students gathered in the Orndorff Theatre to view a PBS film titled, “Kumu Hina: The True Meaning of Aloha.”
The documentary opened with the stereotypical scene of Hawaii — palm trees and surfing. Then, it turned to Halau Lokahi Charter School, a Hawaiian culture-learning environment. Students at Halau Lokahi learn to hula and preserve their native heritage.
When American missionaries came to Hawaii in the 1800s, Hawaiian culture was ripped from the hands of the natives and their chants were silenced. Today, they rejoice in their freedom through dancing.
“Kumu Hina” stands for kumu, or dance instructor, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu. Hina is a mahu, which is the Hawaiian term for someone who has both male and female characteristics. In ancient Hawaii, mahus were respected highly and seen as the wise caretakers with the best qualities of each gender. Hina’s students were very accepting of her, despite her transgender identity.
One of Hina’s students, Ho’Onani Kamai, is considered to be in the middle, neither male nor female, like Hina. Ho’Onani has tomboy characteristics and likes hanging with the boys. In fact, she joined Hina’s high school boys dance class and was appointed leader.
The film did a good job of showing how people who are transgender do not have to be seen as odd. Both Hina and Ho’Onani are very comfortable in their skin despite being considered different. One of Ho’Onani’s classmates commented that she has more balls than any of them.
The film continually went back and forth between Hina’s experiences and Ho’Onani at the dance rehearsals, allowing the audience to build a relationship between the two.
Another character that appeared in “Kumu Hina” was Hina’s husband, Haemaccelo Kalu. He worried about how others would perceive him and that people would think he was homosexual since he married a mahu. Throughout the film, Hina also struggled with her identity in their marriage. She felt as if she had to play a role as a wife even though she did not want to gender identify.
“I don’t want to be pretentious and pretend when I’m with him, but my natural instincts are to be both,” Hina said when referring to changing her voice around her husband.
Hina contemplated whether it was worth being in a relationship, but in the end, realized the love he gave her was irreplaceable.
“Kumu Hina” closed with the end of the year dance performance. It was neat watching the final product after seeing all that went into it during rehearsals. Hina explained how love is the most important thing and that we should love others despite their religion, gender and differences.
The film screening was sponsored by the Shippensburg University’s LGBTQ+ Concerns Committee. Afterward, Shippensburg University counseling professor Matthew Shupp led a brief discussion on “Kuma Hina” and the topic of being transgender. Shupp explained how the campus inclusion group strives to create dialogue among students through hosting events each month.
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Our New Film from Tonga
- Posted on 31st Oct
- Category: news
Last December, we were invited to screen Kumu Hina in the Kingdom of Tonga, a beautiful island nation arrayed across thousands of miles of the South Pacific, steeped in tradition and proud of its independence.
While we were there to share our film's message of aloha and stories of gender diversity and inclusion in Hawaii, we were fascinated to hear Tongan perspectives on the issues and lucky to be able to attend the Miss Galaxy Pageant, a joyful annual celebration of the creativity and talent of "Leitis" - a community of often marginalized transgender women now rising to reclaim their revered and righteous place in Polynesian culture.
Our host was Joey Joleen Mataele, the pageant's founder and the most prominent and admired leiti in Tonga. Joey descends from a noble family, and is quite at home in the upper echelons of Tongan society. But she's also a woman of deep Christian faith who works tirelessly to help lift up those still living in the shadows, primarily through the Tonga Leitis' Association, an organization she runs to support and educate young leitis and to advocate for dignity, respect, and human rights for all.
As filmmakers, we immediately began to shoot all that was unfolding around us. We captured footage of the pageant, and of Joey and other leitis preparing for the event and attending to other aspects of daily life in the kingdom.
Inspired by what we saw and the belief that these stories could build on the foundation laid by the Kumu Hina project to deepen understanding and promote positive social change on a global scale, we applied for and received Research and Development funding from Pacific Islanders in Communications to explore further.
On our second trip to Tonga, this past June, we continued to follow Joey's story, captured compelling portraits of several other leitis struggling to fulfill their dreams, and interviewed a cross-section of Tongans who exert great influence on the country's direction, including members of the royal family and prominent clergy, as well as government, business, educational, and community leaders.
What is emerging is a defining story of our time, a small nation and its people struggling to hold on to its culture and traditions in a rapidly modernizing world, and to determine which forces will define who, and who is not, welcome in its fold.
To answer some of these critical questions, we'll be returning to Tonga this December to film an unprecedented national consultation organized by the Tonga Leitis' Association that will propose the repeal of antiquated laws still on the books - and that conservative religious crusaders are threatening to revive - that would criminalize, imprison, and further marginalize leitis and LGBT people in the Kingdom.
These are extraordinary times, and we're sure that these powerful stories will galvanize public attention in our common quest for that better world.
We're thrilled that esteemed documentary editor Bill Weber ("To Be Takei" - "We Were Here" - "The Cockettes") has joined our team, and we invite you to come along too.
Stay tuned here and follow the project on Facebook for updates.
As always, thanks so much for your support and solidarity.
Malo aupito and Me ke mahalo nui,
Dean, Joe, and Hinaleimoana
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"Growing Up Trans" - PBS Frontline
- Posted on 26th Oct
- Category: news
