FILM TEAM
HINALEIMOANA WONG-KALU
Story Creator and producer
Hina Wong-Kalu is a Native Hawaiian teacher, cultural practitioner and community leader with a long history of perpetuating Kanaka Maoli language, philosophy and traditions, and promoting cross-cultural work throughout the Pacific Islands. She also engages in many community affairs and civic activities, and is currently the Chair of the O'ahu Island Burial Council. Hina was both a protagonist and educational advisor for the award winning documentaries KUMU HINA and A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE, and received a White House Champion of Change and Elison S. Onizuka Human Rights Memorial Award from the National Education Association for the groundbreaking impact campaigns associated with those films.
Dean Hamer & Joe Wilson
Directors and Producers
Emmy Award-winning Hawaii-based filmmakers and long-time activists Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson make documentaries that emanate from the voices of those on the outside, that inspire creativity, that incite us to abandon our comfortable role as spectators and compel us to question and to act. Their work has screened and won awards at film festivals around the world including the Berlinale, Human Rights Watch, Toronto International, AFI Docs, Los Angeles, Frameline and Outfest, and has been viewed by millions of television viewers on PBS, Independent Lens and international networks. With support from the Ford, Arcus and Wyncote Foundations, their impact campaigns have reached thousands of grassroots community groups and classrooms. They are currently working on a series of film that highlight Pacific Islander voices and stories. Dean and Joe are Fellows of the Sundance Institute.
Bill Weber
Editor
Bill Weber is an acclaimed documentary editor with a special talent for weaving series stories with humorous and entertaining elements. He discovered his talent and love for documentaries by editing and directing THE COCKETTES, which premiered at Sundance and the Berlin International Film Festivals and wont he LA Film Critics Documentary of the Year. He also edited and co-directed the Sundance, Berlin and Independent Lens feature WE WERE HERE: THE AIDS YEARS IN SAN FRANCISCO, which the New York Times called "an extraordinarily moving, beautifully edited documentary." Other editing credits include TO BE TAKEI, the Academy Award nominated documentary THE FINAL INCH and the Emmy nominated films LAST LETTER HOME and ALZHEIMER'S CAREGIVERS.
Sisi'Uno Helu
Producer
Born and raised in the Kingdom of Tonga, Sisi'uno is the daughter of renowned Tongan philosopher, historian, and educator Futa Helu, who founded the 'Atenisi Institute, a university and foundation for the performing arts, and inspired a movement advocating Tonga's transition from a feudal to parlimentary democracy. A classically-trained musical impresario and educator, Sisi'uno is now carrying on her father's work as director of the 'Atenisi Institute, where, in partnership with the Auckland University of Technology, she has established a film and media school, cultivating a new generation of Tongan artists and story tellers. In 2015, Sisi'uno co-founded the Nuku'alofa Film Festival, an annual event to encourage local filmmaking and the sharing of Pasifika stories on screen. She also starred in Tongan Ark, a documentary about her father that premiered at the 2012 New Zealand International Film Festival.
Joey "Joleen" Mataele
Protagonist & Campaign Spokesperson
Joey Mataele is a leader in the LGBTQI and human rights movements in the Pacific. She co-founded and currently chairs the Pacific Sexual and Gender diversity Network, is the Pacific Island Representative for the International Gay and Lesbian Association, and chairperson of the South Pacific MSM Network Group. She co-founded the Tonga Leiti's Association in 1992, and developed the Miss Galaxy Pageant as an annual event to support it. Joey is also a talented singer and entertainer who understands the importance of oral culture and the role of song, humour and dance in Pacific cultures.