Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
Director, Producer, Narrator
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu 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 Award for the groundbreaking impact campaigns associated with those films. Continuing her journey to the other side of the lens, Kumu Hina produced the PBS/ARTE feature documentary Leitis in Waiting and award-winning short Lady Eva about her transgender sisters in the Kingdom of Tonga. 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 which was honored as Hawaiian Song of the Year in the 2020 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, known as the Hawaiian Grammys.
Dean Hamer
Director, Producer
Dean Hamer is a New York Times Book of the Year author, Emmy and GLAAD Media award-winning filmmaker, and National Institutes of Health scientist emeritus with a long history in communicating complex and controversial ideas to diverse publics. He formed Kanaka Pakipika with partner Joe Wilson and documentary film protagonist Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu to collaborate on 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 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 and Oprah.
Joe Wilson
Director, Producer
J
oe 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 and international broadcasts, and has been supported by Sundance, Ford and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Wilson's 2010 film Out in the Silence focused on the challenges of LGBT people in rural and small town America and became the centerpiece of a multi-year national campaign to open dialogue and build bridges across socio-political divides. Shortly after, he and partner Dean Hamer began their now decade-long collaboration with Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, first documenting her story in the PBS Independent Lens Audience Award-winner Kumu Hina, then with Hina joining as producer on a series of films about gender diversity in the Pacific, including Leitis in Waiting, Lady Eva, and The Rogers. Kapaemahu is Wilson’s
fifth film in collaboration with Hina. Prior to filmmaking, he served as Director of Human Rights at the Public Welfare Foundation and Producer of Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now.
Daniel Sousa
Animation Director
Daniel Sousa is an Academy Award-nominated animator who uses the themes embedded in myths and legends to examine archetypes of human nature. Born in Cape Verde, he approaches filmmaking from a painter’s perspective, focusing on the fragility of fleeting moments, memories and perceptions. His short films include Feral, which was supported by a Creative Capital Foundation grant and screened at Sundance, and Fable, which won awards at festivals around the world. He recently completed animating several native legends for the four-part PBS special Native America, which weaves history and science with living indigenous traditions. Sousa has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, Harvard University, The Museum School, The Art Institute of Boston and the Animation Workshop in Denmark.
Kaumakaiwa Kanakaole
Chant
Chant composer and performer Kaumakaiwa Kanaka‘ole is the great grandchild of Edith Kanaka‘ole, who was one of the seminal figures of the Hawaiian Renaissance which helped bring Hawaiian culture back into the central life of the Islands. Since birth, Kaumakaiwa has dedicated her life to her illustrious family’s practice and passion – hula and Hawaiian culture. Kaumakaiwa has been on stage since she could walk. A charismatic dancer and singer, with an impressive vocal range from tenor chant to Hawaiian falsetto singing, she is a five-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winner with 3 solo CDs to her name. Her vocal performances are an outgrowth of the Hawaiian art of chant and songwriting, with roots in rhythms and metaphors of hula. She was honored with a Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Fellowship, invited to be an Opening Plenary Speaker at the APAP’s annual national conference in New York, and the first Hawaiian performer to appear at globalFEST. A modern transgender Hawaiian (mahu wahine), Kaumakaiwa is a vibrant keeper of culture and an authentic innovator who engages indigenous thought to address today’s issues through music, chant, and sharing of spirit. Dan Golden
Dan Golden
Composer, Sound Designer
Dan Golden is an Oscar nominated sound and visual designer living in the Boston area. He has collaborated with Daniel Sousa as composer and sound designer for several animated short films inclduing Feral , which premiered at Sundance and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 2014 Academy Awards. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Golden has also worked as a designer for Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Olive Jar Studios, Comedy Central and many other studios, and his paintings have been shown throughout New England.
CREDITS
Katau ia, Tuhituhi ia, Hooputa ia na
(Written, Directed and Produced by)
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
Dean Hamer
Joe Wilson
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Luna Tuhituhi Hoonenene Tii
(Animation Director)
Daniel Sousa
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Luna Hooponopono Kani
(Sound and Music)
Dan Golden
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Haku Mele, Mea Oli
(Chant Composer and Chanter)
Kaumakaiwa Kanakaole
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Mea Tutai Olelo (Narrator)
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
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Luna Hooponopono Kani Leo Oli
(Chant Sound Producer)
Shawn Pimental
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Luna Hooponopono Tauwili Kani
(Sound Mix)
Phil Perkins
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Luna Hooputa Nui no PIC
(Executive Director for PIC)
Leanne Ferrer