8:00pm (CHST)
Tue, Apr 04

The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu

US | 56 min. | Guam Premiere
Documentary, Animation, LGBTQ+, Cultural | GIFF Guide: General Audiences – material suitable for all ages

Synopsis

On Honolulu’s famed Waikiki Beach stand four giant boulders placed as a tribute to the four legendary mahu – individuals of dual male and female spirit – who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii long ago. Although the stones have survived for centuries, their story has been hidden and the respected role of mahu erased.

The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu documents the trail of post-colonial suppression through the eyes of a Native Hawaiian director, herself mahu, and uses rare archival materials, new historical findings, and vivid animation to bring the unexpurgated story back to life. This is the first feature documentary to be presented in Olelo Kanaka Niihau, the only form of the Hawaiian language unbroken by foreign contact.

Screenings and Awards

Tribeca Film Festival
Bishop Museum – Opening night of The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu exhibition

Written, Directed and Produced by:

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
Kumu Hina 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 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.

Joe Wilson
Joe 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, ARTE and other international broadcasts, and has been supported by Sundance, Ford and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Kapaemahu is his fifth film in collaboration with Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu. Previously, Wilson served as Director of the Human Rights at the Public Welfare Foundation and a Producer of Pacifica National Radio’s Democracy Now.

Dean Hamer
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 prior film subject Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu to produce 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 also 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.

Website: The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu

Narrator: Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu

Written, Directed and Produced by: Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson

Animation Director: Daniel Sousa

Editor: Bill Weber

Sound and Music: Dan Golden

Chant Composer and Chanter: Kaumakaiwa Kanakaole

Chant Sound Producer: Shawn Pimental

Sound Mix: Phil Perkins

Executive Director for PIC: Leanne Ferrer

Funding has been provided to Guam International Film Festival, Inc. from Humanities Guåhan and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the federal ARP Act of 2021.