In Introduction to Transgender Studies, published in February 2019 by academic LGBTQ publisher Harrington Park Press, author Ardel Haefele-Thomas explores the historical and political contexts of transgender lives. They also share intimate personal stories and essays by trans people from around the world, and celebrate transgender people’s contributions to the worlds of art, literature, and culture. Haefele-Thomas recommends 13 films about transgender people and featuring transgender subjects and themes. If you feel less familiar with the transgender experience than you’d like to be, this list is a good place to start.

The Isabelle Lake Memorial Lecture is held in Perth each year on May 17th, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHoBIT). This year the lecture will be given by Tongan transgender woman Jolene Mataele. Mataele has recently featured in the documentary Leitis In Waiting, a film that follows a group of transgender women fighting for their place in the island kingdom.

"A story that comes, quite literally, from one of the farthest corners of the globe, 'Leitis in Waiting' is a surprising and thought-provoking documentary from co-directors Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson. While the threats of the evangelical community’s polarizing views have put the Leiti at risk of harm, this film is by no means designed to insight anger or fear. Rather, the filmmakers skillfully maintain a steady hand in weaving together multiple perspectives on the importance of modern-day Leiti in Tongan society, with just the right amount of delightful humour included for good measure."

Wondering which LGBT+ films to watch from the BFI Flare 2019? We’ve got you covered. Like the very best documentaries, Leitis In Waiting tackles a subject rarely discussed on our side of the Pacific while also helping to fight for real change and social justice.

Wellington, 20 March 2019 - On 20 March, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) launched the 13th edition of its flagship publication, State-Sponsored Homophobia, authored by Lucas Ramón Mendos.

This publication compiles data on laws that affect people on the basis of their sexual orientation - a fundamental resource for researchers, civil society organisations, governments and the general public. They are a powerful tool in the struggle for a more just and inclusive society. Download full report HERE.

As the BFI Flare London Film Fest gears up for its launch, festival programmer Zorian Clayton highlights the best documentaries from the 2019 programme. “The Leitis, like in many parts of the Pacific Islands and across Asia, have a historic third gender – one that occupies a space close to trans and non-binary identities. Because it’s an island that largely avoided colonisation, they managed to retain a more inclusive understanding of gender. Homophobia and transphobia are being brought to these Polynesian islands now with the arrival of western culture, and people who have been accepted for many, many centuries are under threat. It’s a unique insight into how precarious these traditions can be, but it also offers a potential look at how our thinking about gender could change for the better.”

Invisibility seems like an unlikely problem for Joey Joleen Mataele. Radiating both strength and warmth in equal measure, she was one of the most striking figures at the second Asia-Pacific Rainbow Families Forum, a meeting of delegates from 27 countries hosted once again last year in Hong Kong. Full story HERE.

Since Nanook was captured on film fishing through a hole in the Northern ice, the documentary form has brought millions of other lives into our own.  In a stunning choice by Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival, Tonga’s Leitis community will warm your heart, give you hope and inspire you to be Fearless. Leitis in Waiting is an emotional and motivating feature documentary about the transgender community of the Kingdom of Tonga.

In an in-depth piece titled “Made Visible: The 2018 Hawai’i International Film Festival,” Filmmaker Magazine’s Jason Sanders highlights “Leitis in Waiting” among other films.

ThinkTech Hawaii’i Crystal Kwok interviews ‘Leitis in Waiting’ director Joe Wilson and star Joey Joleen Mataele about the issues behind the film and the campaign it has launched across the Pacific.

Leitis in Waiting, a feature documentary, launched the fourth Nuku’alofa International Film Festival 2018 at the Digicel Square in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, last night. The film is about the struggles of transgender people living in Tonga – known locally as ‘leitis’. Full story HERE.

Pacific Mornings with Seini F Taumoepeau brings you a fresh take on what is happening in the region. Interview segment begins at 1:17:00 at this link.

The latest film from Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, who brought the similarly themed KUMU HINA to HIFF in 2014, brings another fiercely outspoken advocate into the limelight, as Joey defends the rights of the leitis and all LGBTQ Tongans by encouraging direct dialogue with their vitriolic opposition. It is a true portrait of pride and poise in an island paradise tainted by the tendrils of western cultural colonialism. - KITV

Audiences accustomed to stories about rising sea levels in the Pacific, are introduced to another sort of rising tide in the Kingdom of Tonga.  Leitis in Waiting presents the high spirits of a transsexual beauty pageant alongside religious fundamentalism that condemns both the pageant and the lifestyles it represents.

A film screening this week in Honolulu highlights the struggle of transgender women in Tonga.