LEITIS IN WAITING tells the story of Tonga's evolving approach to gender fluidity through a character-driven portrait of the most prominent leiti (transgender) in the Kingdom, Joey Mataele, a devout Catholic of royal descent. Over the course of an eventful year, Joey organizes a beauty pageant, mentors a young leiti who is rejected by her family, and attempts to work with fundamentalist Christians regarding Tonga's anti-sodomy and cross-dressing laws. Her story reveals what it means to be different in a deeply religious and conservative society, and what it takes to be accepted without giving up who you are.
This film played at the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
- Year2018
- Runtime72 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, Tongan
- CountryTonga, USA
- DirectorDean Hamer, Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
- ProducerDean Hamer, Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
- CastJoey Mataele, Eva Baron
LEITIS IN WAITING tells the story of Tonga's evolving approach to gender fluidity through a character-driven portrait of the most prominent leiti (transgender) in the Kingdom, Joey Mataele, a devout Catholic of royal descent. Over the course of an eventful year, Joey organizes a beauty pageant, mentors a young leiti who is rejected by her family, and attempts to work with fundamentalist Christians regarding Tonga's anti-sodomy and cross-dressing laws. Her story reveals what it means to be different in a deeply religious and conservative society, and what it takes to be accepted without giving up who you are.
This film played at the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
- Year2018
- Runtime72 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, Tongan
- CountryTonga, USA
- DirectorDean Hamer, Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
- ProducerDean Hamer, Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
- CastJoey Mataele, Eva Baron