Leitis In Waiting

Monday June 3 & Tuesday June 4:
Leitis In Waiting.Not Rated | 72 min
Celebrate PRIDE at the Palace!
Documentary by Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson & Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu
Leitis in Waiting is a raw yet tender portrait of Joey Mataele and the Tonga leitis, an intrepid group of native transgender women fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism and intolerance in their South Pacific Kingdom.
Doors will open 30 minutes prior to each showing. Tickets are $8.50 General and $7.50 for Seniors & Students. Tickets available now at the Box Office and ONLINE.
Leitis in Waiting is the story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga leitis, an intrepid group of native transgender women fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism and intolerance in their South Pacific Kingdom.
The film follows Joey, a devout Catholic of noble descent, as she organizes an exuberant beauty pageant presided over by a princess, provides shelter and training for a young contestant rejected by her family, and spars with American-financed evangelicals threatening to resurrect colonial-era laws that criminalize the leitis’ lives. With unexpected humor and extraordinary access to the Kingdom’s royals and religious leaders, Joeys emotional journey reveals what it means to be different in a society ruled by tradition, and what it takes to be accepted without forsaking culture and tradition. Leitis in Waiting is an inside story, created by a Polynesian transgender woman who once competed, and won the crown in, Joey’s beauty pageant.
“Leitis in Waiting is a true gift to the world – mesmerizing and unflinching.” ~Jeannette Hereniko, President, Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema