Filmmakers Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson formed Qwaves to produce insightful and provocative documentaries about often overlooked social issues. Their films have been supported by Sundance, ITVS and Pacific Islanders in Communications, won awards at over 100 film festivals across the world, and used as outreach and educational tools by a wide range of community and educational organizations. Wilson and Hamer are currently in-production on a new film tentatively titled Tonga Leitis. Produced in association with Pacific Islanders in Communications, the film will tell the story of the conservative south Pacific Kingdom of Tonga’s evolving approach to gender fluidity.

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu is a kanaka maoli teacher, cultural practitioner and community leader. She was a founding member of, and outreach specialist for, Kulia Na Mamo, a community organization established to improve the quality of life for māhūwahine (transgender women). She is currently the cultural director at Hālau Lōkahi, a public charter school that uses Native Hawaiian culture, history and education as tools for developing and empowering the next generation of warrior scholars. She can currently be seen in an award-winning documentary about her life, Kumu Hina, which is screening at film festivals around the globe.