LEITIS IN WAITING

USA/TONGA, 2018, 72 MIN
DIR. DEAN HAMER, JOE WILSON & HINALEIMOANA WONG-KALU

Leitis in Waiting is the story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga leitis, an intrepid group of first nations 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 organises 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 criminalise the leitis’ lives.

With unexpected humour and extraordinary access to the Kingdom’s royals and religious leaders, Joey’s 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.

Please note Leitis in Waiting will screen at 3.45pm following afternoon tea.