Pacific Islanders in Communications in partnership with PBS Hawai’i, proudly present a special Pride Month event, highlighting THE HEALER STONES OF KAPAEMAHU, from Season 11 of the Pacific Heartbeat series.

You are cordially invited to a live conversation and Q&A, featuring THE HEALER STONES OF KAPAEMAHU filmmakers: Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, in conversation with archivist and historian, Desoto Brown (Bishop Museum).

Moderated by Taylour Chang (Bishop Museum), this discussion promises to be an engaging exploration of a rich cultural history, the importance of representation and the lasting legacies that often hide in plain sight.

THE HEALER STONES OF KAPAEMAHU

Four boulders in Waikīkī pay tribute to healers that brought their arts from Tahiti to Hawai’i hundreds of years ago. A plaque commemorates the healers’ contributions, but fails to mention they were mahu- people of dual male and female spirit. THE HEALER STONES OF KAPAEMAHU tells the story of these heroes and explores what happened to mahu as colonialism swept across the Pacific.

PANELISTS

HINALEIMOANA WONG-KALU (Film Director and Hawaiian Culture Bearer)

Kumu Hina is a Native Hawaiian teacher, cultural practitioner and filmmaker who uses digital media to protect and perpetuate indigenous languages and traditions. She began her film work as a protagonist and educational advisor for the award winning films Kumu Hina and A Place in the Middle, and received a National Education Association Human Rights Award, Native Hawaiian Educator of the year and White House Champion of Change for the groundbreaking impact campaigns associated with those films. Continuing her journey to the other side of the lens, Kumu Hina produced the award-winning short Lady Eva and PBS feature documentary Leitis in Waiting about her transgender sisters in the Kingdom of Tonga. Kapaemahu is her first film in Ōlelo Niʻihau , in which she is fluent. Hina is also a transgender health advocate, burial council chair, candidate for the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and composer of “Ku Haaheo E Kuu Hawaii,” the internationally known anthem for the protection of Mauna Kea.

DEAN HAMER (Film Director and Researcher)

Dean Hamer is a New York Times Book of the Year author, National Institutes of Health scientist, and Emmy and GLAAD Media award-winning filmmaker whose work has played an important role in current understandings of human sexuality and gender. He formed Kanaka Pakipika with partner Joe Wilson and prior film subject Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu to produce an insightful series of films that have opened the eyes of the worlds to the lessons to be learned from Polynesia’s unique approach to diversity and inclusion. He is currently working on a book and museum exhibition based on Kapaemahu. Hamer is also the author of several best-selling nonfiction books including “The Science of Desire” and “The God Gene,” has been a consultant for the BBC and Discovery channels, and his research has been featured in Time, Newsweek, and Science magazines and on FRONTLINE PBS and Oprah.

JOE WILSON (Film Director and Engagement Strategist)

Joe Wilson is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker dedicated to telling stories that emanate from the voices of those on the outside. His feature and short films combine live action with animation to explore pressing social issues through innovative storytelling. Wilson’s work has screened and won awards at festivals around the world including Berlin, Toronto and Tribeca, been viewed by millions of viewers on PBS, Netflix, ARTE and other international broadcasts, and has been supported by Sundance, Ford and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Kapaemahu is his fifth film in collaboration with Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu. Previously, Wilson served as Director of the Human Rights at the Public Welfare Foundation and a Producer of Pacifica Radio’s Democracy Now.

DESOTO BROWN (Archivist and Historian at Bishop Museum)

Curious, inquisitive, a seeker of information and a reader of anything and everything, DeSoto Brown might have become a professor or a detective. Lucky for the historical wealth of Hawai‘i, he became the archivist and collections manager for the Bishop Museum. His great-great grandfather, John Papa Ii, was a 19th-century writer and Hawaiian historian who served as adviser to Hawaii kings Kamehameha III, IV and V. Brown’s parents were also history buffs who sparked his curiosity in the past. He has a wide range of interests, and has co-curated numerous exhibitions including the recent “Kaula Piko: The Source of Strings” and “Mai Kinohi Mai: Surfing in Hawai’i.”

MODERATOR

TAYLOUR CHANG (Director of Public Programs, Bishop Museum)