'Vahine' means woman in Polynesian. But the word, associated to a myth forged by foreigners, has become almost embarrassing to use in Tahiti. This film will have you meet some of these women: dancer, writer, herbalist or politician. All of them play a key role in the smooth running of the Polynesian society and especially the preservation of its traditions and the integrity of its language and cultural identity.
On Honolulu's famous Waikiki Beach stand four large stones that represent a Hawaiian tradition of healing and gender diversity that is all but unknown to the millions of locals and tourists passing by. According to legend, the stones are a tribute to four mahu, people of dual male and female spirit, who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii and used their spiritual power to cure disease.
During a momentous year in her life in modern Honolulu, Hina Wong-Kalu, a native Hawaiian māhū, or transgender, teacher uses traditional culture to inspire a student to claim her place as leader of the school's all-male hula troupe. But despite her success as a teacher, Hina longs for love and a committed relationship. Will her marriage to a headstrong Tongan man fulfill her dreams?
This is the story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga Leitis, an intrepid group of transgender women fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism in their highly religious and conservative South Pacific Kingdom.
An intimate glimpse of the first visible group of transgender men in the Pacific Islands - the Rogers of Samoa. From the loneliness of family rejection and homelessness to the camaraderie of church, cooking, and dance, their stories reveal the challenges and possibilities of life in an island society rooted in culture and tradition.
This film explores the traditional roles of women and how they are changing in contemporary Micronesia, with a special emphasis on the outer islands of Chuuk and Yap.
Mililani Trask (Kanaka Oiwi) is a Native Hawaiian political speaker, attorney, and champion of indigenous and human rights. During the Hawaiian sovereignty movement in the 1980s, Trask founded Ka Lahui Hawaii, a Native Hawaiian initiative for self governance. She worked as a diplomat and has testified multiple times at the United Nations, advocating for the passage of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She remains prominent in Native Hawaiian politics, and currently serves as an advisor to Innovations Development Group, a firm focused on bringing clean, renewable, energy to Hawaiian communities.
