MĀHŪ: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter is a short documentary about an innovative theater production by master hula teacher, Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne, which aims to reclaim and celebrate the traditional place of honor and respect given to māhū (transgender) people.

The film explores the history of the Hawaiian term māhū by interweaving the multi-media stage performance featuring the hula dance, chant, and contemporary music around intimate interviews with the artistic collaborators of the show who are all acclaimed Hawaiian transgender artists. As they prepare to open the MĀHŪ show in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, we meet Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a revered community leader, kumu hula, and filmmaker known for her activism in the field of kanaka maoli language and cultural preservation; Iwalani Hoʻomanawanui Apo, a revered loea, or expert, of Hawaiian music and master falsetto singer in the beloved Hawaiian music trio, Kuini; and Kaumakaiwa Kanakaʻole, a multi-award winning performer and great-grandchild of esteemed Kumu Hula Edith Kanakaʻole who was one of the seminal figures of the Hawaiian Renaissance. These contemporary artists share intergenerational stories from both older and younger māhū experiences that highlight the difficulties of navigating their transgender identities. In showcasing the talent of the ensemble who are expressing themselves artistically with openness and confidence, in a genuine and culturally connected way, MĀHŪ embraces the wide spectrum of gender rooted in the strength and validity of Hawaiian queer and transgender identities.

The term māhū itself is one of the most controversial words in all of the Hawaiian language, and one that has been used in the derogatory and pejorative sense which is now being reclaimed in this creative showcase to bring it out of shame. Māhū is the traditional Hawaiian term for transgender or the “expression of the third self which embodies both male and female aspects within while acknowledging and embracing both.” Māhū were an integral part of Hawaiian culture before the arrival of missionaries in the 1820s, respected as cultural standard bearers, artisans and healers. Today, in many Pacific Islander communities, māhū still face discrimination and unequal treatment due to their gender identity. MĀHŪ serves as a reminder to the Native Hawaiian community and the world that before colonization, before Western concepts of gender and colonial prejudice, there was an indigenous sensibility of queer culture that celebrated cultural truths based on inclusivity, diversity, and aloha.

Lead featured artist Patrick Makuakāne is a creative force in the hula world whose innovative art springs from an avowedly queer and socially conscious perspective. Patrick Makuakāne is a kumu hula, or master hula teacher, known for blending traditional hula with contemporary music and subject matter. Since 1985, he has forged his own unique form of hula – hula mua, or hula that evolves, with his San Francisco-based dance company, Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu. With his work, Patrick continually reaches beyond the Hawaiian community to present hula to larger and more diverse audiences, within a format that is progressive, provocative, and yet still genuinely Hawaiian.

Director Lisette Marie Flanary

Independent filmmaker, educator, and hula dancer, Lisette Marie Flanary creates films that celebrate a modern renaissance of the hula dance and Hawaiian culture. She is the writer, producer and director of Lehua Films and her award-winning documentaries, AMERICAN ALOHA: Hula Beyond Hawaiʻi (P.O.V. series 2003-2004), Nā Kamalei: The Men of Hula (Independent Lens series 2006-2007), and ONE VOICE (NPT 2010-2011) have broadcast nationally on public television and shown in film festivals around the world. Her last film, TOKYO HULA, the final film in a trilogy of hula documentaries exploring the explosive popularity of hula in Japan, was awarded the Best Moana Whārahi Films from the Pacific Award at the Doc Edge Film Festival in New Zealand and is also the winner of Best Feature Film at the 2021 Made in Hawaiʻi Film Festival. All three documentaries in the Hula Trilogy were broadcast on the Pacific Heartbeat Season 10 from Pacific Islanders in Communications in 2021. Lisette is currently a Professor at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She also continues to serve the local filmmaking community in Hawaiʻi through her work with Good Pitch Local Hawaiʻi, ʻOhina Film Labs, and Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking.