#a place in the middle
On Wednesday, April 6, Kamehameha Schools welcomes 1990 graduate Hina Wong-Kalu back to its Honolulu campus for a very special evening of film, music, and conversation.
The public is invited and all are welcome, so please share among friends and colleagues!
The main event will be a screening of A Place in the Middle, a youth-oriented educational video that emerged from Kumu Hina, the award-winning PBS film about her life and work as a teacher.
In addition to a lively talk story with Hina and the filmmakers, attendees will be able to get free copies of the educational toolkit, and be treated to a performance of Hina’s mele – including the inspirational anthem Ku'u Ha'aheo e ku'u Hawai'i - Stand Tall My Hawai'i.
Hawaiian Anti-Bullying Film to Screen at Libraries Statewide
An educational toolkit for safe and inclusive schools.
HONOLULU, HI, Sept. 14, 2015 - TheHawaii State Public Library System will present “A Place in the Middle” - a short Hawaiian film at the heart of a newbullying prevention campaign centered on cultural empowerment and gender inclusion - in a series of screenings at eight selected public libraries statewide from Friday, Sept. 18 through Wednesday, Oct. 28. (See list below for screening locations, dates, and times.)
Created by Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu, and directed by Emmy-winners Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, “A Place in the Middle” tells the true story of a young girl who dreams of leading the boys’ hula troupe at her Honolulu school, and an inspiring teacher who uses traditional Hawaiian culture to empower her. After each screening, the team will talk story with the audience about the film and educational campaign - supported by Pacific Islanders in Communications, Hawaii People’s Fund, Ford Foundation, and PBS Learning Media.
“We encourage our patrons to learn more about Hawaii’s rich cultural heritage through our libraries’ resources and programs,” said State Librarian Stacy Aldrich. "As community hubs, libraries serve as the perfect venues to host discussions that enable our patrons to connect, learn and celebrate Hawaii’s indigenous and diverse cultures.“
This one-hour program is suitable for students, parents, and educators interested in Hawaiian culture and community-based efforts to make schools safe and inclusive for all. Free DVDs and teaching guides will be available for participants committed to using them in their work.
"A Place in the Middle” Film & Talk Story Events
Sept. 18 (Friday) - 6:00pm: Thelma Parker Memorial Public & School Library (Kamuela, Hawaii Island)
Sept. 29 (Tuesday) - 6:00pm: Kahuku Public & School Library (Oahu)
Oct. 3 (Saturday) - 3:00pm: Kihei Public Library (Maui)
Oct. 7 (Wednesday) - 6:30pm: Waianae Public Library (Oahu)
Oct. 14 (Wednesday) - 6:30pm: Waimanalo Public & School Library (Oahu)
Oct. 15 (Thursday) - 6:00pm: Hawaii State Library (Honolulu)
Oct. 22 (Thursday) - 6:00pm: Hanapepe Public Library (Kauai)
Oct. 28 (Wednesday) - 5:00pm: Molokai Public Library (Kaunakakai)
For more information, contact Library Development Services Manager, Susan Nakata, at (808) 831-6878.
Big Island Now - Sept. 10, 2015:
One Big Island public library will be among seven in the state to present “A Place in the Middle,” a Hawai’i-made anti-bullying film.
The film was made to support a culturally-centered campaign for safe and inclusive schools and will be shown at free screenings across the state between Sept. 18 and Oct. 28.
Thelma Parker Memorial Public & School Library is the film’s first stop. The showing will take place on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. before traveling to Oahu, Maui, and Kauai.
“We encourage our patrons to learn more about Hawai’i’s rich cultural heritage throughout libraries’ resources and programs,” said State Librarian Stacey Aldrich. “As community hubs, libraries serve as the perfect venues to host discussions that enable our patrons to connect, learn, and celebrate Hawai’i’s indigenous and diverse cultures.”
The one-hour program, created by Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu tells the story of a young Hawaiian girl who dreams of leading a boys-only hula troupe at her Honolulu school and an inspiring teacher who uses traditional culture to empower her. “A Place in the Middle” was directed by Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson.
Following the screening, a talk story session will take place with the audience about both the film and the educational campaign. Educational tools, including teaching guides and free DVDs, will be available following the program.
Those who need a sign language interpreter or another special accommodation should contact Thelma Parker Memorial Public & School Library by calling 887-6067 as soon as possible.
A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE tells the true story of an eleven year-old Hawaiian girl who dreams of leading her school’s all-male hula troupe. The only trouble is that the group is just for boys. She’s fortunate to have a teacher who understands what it means to be “in the middle” - the Hawaiian tradition of embracing both male and female spirit. Together they set out to prove that what matters most is what’s in your heart and mind.
This youth-focused educational film is a great way to get K-12 students thinking and talking about the values of diversity and inclusion, the power of knowing your heritage, and how to create a school climate of aloha, from their own point of view!
The film is accompanied by a Classroom Discussion Guide that includes background information about Hawaiian culture and history, discussion questions, and lesson plans aligned with the Common Core State Educational Standards and additional educational benchmarks.
The complete film, Discussion Guide, and other resources, including a displayable “Pledge of Aloha,” are available for freeatAPlaceintheMiddle.org. They are also available on the trusted educator’s website PBS LearningMedia, and in hard copy upon request.
From the Berlin and Toronto International Film Festivals to classrooms across the United States, A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE is proving to be a powerful tool to talk about the intersections between gender, identity and culture, and the positive outcomes that occur when schools welcome students with love, honor and respect.
What people are saying about A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE
“An inspiring coming-of-age story on the power of culture to shape identity, personal agency, and community cohesion, from a young person’s point of view.” –Cara Mertes, Ford Foundation
“A valuable teaching tool for students in elementary, middle and high schools, as well as for parents and teachers.” –Carol Crouch, Eleʻele Elementary School, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
“An amazing tool to help educators understand the need for acceptance for each and every child regardless of gender expression.” –Tracy Flynn, Welcoming Schools
“One of the most positive films about the trans experience I’ve ever seen.” –Jennifer Finney Boylan, author and writer-in-residence at Barnard College
“Uniquely accessible for youth.” –Gender Spectrum
”A true-life ‘Whale Rider’ story.“ –The Huffington Post
Kumu means teacher, and Kumu Hina has a lot to teach the world about how to educate with aloha – love, honor and respect for all. We’ve developed tools to use with both the full documentary KUMU HINA, and a shorter kids’ film called A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE, with students from kindergarten through graduate school. Check it all out HERE.
Film Explores the Beautiful Way Hawaiian Culture Embraces Trans Identity
San Francisco, Ca. - July 1, 2015: Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson’s Kumu Hina has received the Independent Lens Audience Award, recognizing its status as the highest-rated film of the 2014-2015 season on the acclaimed Emmy and Dupont Award-winning PBS documentary series.
The film tells the inspiring story of Hina Wong-Kalu, a transgender native Hawaiian teacher and cultural icon who brings to life Hawaii’s traditional embrace of mahu - those who embody both male and female spirit. Over the course of a momentous year, Hina empowers a young girl to lead the school’s all-male hula troupe, as she seeks love and a fulfilling romantic relationship in her own life.
“The national broadcast premiere of Kumu Hina happened just as the country was struggling to understand Bruce Jenner’s transition to Caitlyn,” said the filmmakers. “Kumu Hina introduced the American public, mired in the Western mind-set of gender as a simple male-female binary, to Hawaiian culture’s more inclusive and holistic philosophy, one that embraces rather than rejects those who, like Hina, inhabit a place in the middle of the gender spectrum.”
Recently Hamer and Wilson have launched an education campaign around a special children’s version of the film, called A Place in the Middle, that tells the story of the young student through her own words and colorful Polynesian-style animation. The filmmakers are distributing the short video and teaching guides for free on their website and in partnership with PBS Learning Media because “Young people deserve to see a school where everyone is accepted and included,” they said. “We hope this project will help spread Kumu Hina’s message of aloha - love, honor and respect for all - to schools and communities everywhere.”
Kumu Hina was funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,Independent Television Service (ITVS), and Pacific Islanders in Communications. Prior to its national PBS broadcast on May 4, it premiered as the closing night film at the Hawaii International Film Festival, and won numerous festival awards including the Frameline Jury Award for Achievement in Documentary.
By Beth Sherouse, Ph.D., May 01, 2015:
Numerous indigenous cultures across the globe have traditions of recognizing a third gender, people who don’t fit within traditional gender binaries or whom we might now call transgender.
While European colonialism sought to suppress or marginalize these identities, some of these traditions have survived and are seeing renewed interest and attention. In some indigenous North American cultures, for example, people identify as two-spirit. In Thai culture, people assigned male at birth but who live as women identify as kathoey.
In native Hawaiian culture, people whose gender identity or expression is somewhere “in the middle” of the binary sometimes identify as māhū, which is the subject of the new documentary, Kumu Hina, premiering Monday, May 4 on the popular PBS series Independent Lens. The film follows the story of Hina, a teacher (or a Kumu in Hawaiian) who identifies as māhū, and her 11-year-old student, Ho’onani, who describes herself as “in the middle.”
The filmmakers, Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer have also made a shorter version of the film called A Place In the Middle – which focuses on Ho’onani and her dream of leading the boys-only hula group at her school – available as a resource for educators to help facilitate discussions on gender. The film is available to stream or download for free from their website.
Filmmaker Dean Hamer explains that “Kumu Hina recognizes that when the class lines up, boys on one side and girls on the other side, there needs to be a place, an actual physical space in the middle” for Ho'onani and other students who don’t naturally belong on one side or the other.”
“In the end, Ho'onani becomes an incredible force and leads the boys into the final performance of the school year, and they come to not only respect her, but really embrace her,” says Hamer. “The strong girl wins at the end.”
“Unlike most educational films, it’s not just about kids, it’s for kids,” says Hamer, and Ho’onani narrates much of her own story. Hamer and Wilson have prepared a guide to help teachers facilitate discussions based on the film about “how gender is interpreted by culture, and how instead of just accepting people who are ‘in the middle,’ this culture celebrates them.”
HRC Foundation Welcoming Schools consultant Tracy Flynn has used A Place In the Middle to work with educators on what welcoming school environments can look like for LGBTQ and gender-expansive kids.
“This film shows one culturally specific story with the universal message of acceptance,” Flynn explains. “It’s an amazing tool to help educators understand the need for acceptance for each and every child regardless of gender expression.”
For more ideas on talking about gender in the classroom, check out the resources available from HRC’s Welcoming Schools. For ways to support transgender and gender-expansive children and youth, visit hrc.org/trans-youth.
By Dean Hamer, Co-Producer/Director of “Kumu Hina” –
Many U.S. schools serve groups of kids who are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, age, religious or non-religious belief, national origin, family situation, ability, sexual orientation and gender identity. This diversity is especially vibrant here in Hawai'i, where many people describe their ethnic background as “chop suey,” Christians are in a minority and gender-nonconforming individuals are not only accepted but are respected and admired for their important role in perpetuating cultural knowledge and traditions.
For two years, we were given the opportunity to film a remarkable māhū (transgender) native Hawaiian teacher, Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu, as she created a “place in the middle” where every student at her small Honolulu charter school felt welcome, included and ready to learn to the best of their ability. Hina’s story is portrayed in our PBS feature documentary Kumu Hina, which is being nationally broadcast on Independent Lensas of May 4, 2015.
But we also wanted to bring Hina’s teaching to K-12 schools, which led us to produce a youth-friendly, short version of the film called A Place in the Middle that has been excerpted for the Perspectives for a Diverse America anthology. Here are some ways these video clips can be used to help students appreciate the value of inclusion, the strengths they inherit from their cultural heritage and their own power to create a school climate of honor and respect.
Celebrate Difference. In the scene “Welcome to Hawai'i,” Kumu Hina is preparing the students for a hula performance by handing out lei necklaces, yellow for boys and white for girls. But 11-year-old Ho'onani decides that she wants to wear both colors—a decision that her classmates meet with envy rather than scorn. In a later scene,“Kāne-Wahine and Wahine-Kāne”(Boy-Girls and Girl-Boys), Hina explains that she has created this “place in the middle” so that gender-creative students have a specific space they can call their own.
These clips are a reminder to teachers that students who are perceived to be different, in one way or another, deserve to be celebrated preciselybecause of those differences, not simply tolerated despite them. And it’s a jumping off place for students to think and talk about how every person’s identity is comprised of multiple interacting facets. A good discussion prompt is to note that Ho'onani is in the middle between male and female, then ask how many other ways people can be “in the middle”; for example, being more than one race or bilingual, being part of two households after a divorce and so on.
Use the Power of Heritage. In “Hawai'i Poniʻī,” the principal of the school urges her students to take seriously their lessons on Hawaiian culture because, “We didn’t get to sing ‘Hawai'i Poniʻī’ (the Hawaiian national anthem) in our schools. We had to pledge allegiance to the flag that took over Hawai'i.” Her approach works: By the end of the film, even the students who began the year with little enthusiasm have become full participants in the school’s activities.
You can use this clip to inspire students to inquire into their own heritage, starting with well-known aspects, such as food, holidays, etc., and progressing to a deeper conversation that incorporates social, cultural, political and historical contexts. Ask students to bring in food dishes typical of their heritage, and after the Smorgasbord is consumed, ask what ideas, values or practices their home cultures could contribute to their classroom or school.
Another clip, “Hawaiians Live in Aloha,” uses Polynesian-style animated figures to tell the history of how early Hawaiians respected and admired people with both male and female spirits, giving them the special name of māhū. Asking students to interpret images from this animated portrayal of Hawaiian history prior to and after viewing the film is a good ice-breaker for what some consider a sensitive topic. You can follow up by asking them to draw their own interpretation of what it means to be “in the middle.”
Teach With Aloha. Many people think of “aloha” as just a cute way to say hello or goodbye, but as Kumu Hina explains in a clip about her transition, the deeper meaning is to have love, honor and respect for everyone. Ask students how the characters in the film demonstrate aloha, and then how they do (or could) demonstrate it themselves. Most important, how do you rate your own classroom and school on living up to this standard?
You can help spread the concept of aloha by hanging aPledge of Aloha poster in your classroom or by handing out Pledge of Aloha postcards that can be signed and returned to Kumu Hina in Hawai'i. The module can be considered a success if students use this opportunity to share what they’ve learned about Hawai'i and its uniquely inclusive approach to gender and many other types of diversity.
By Nina Wu - Sunday, May 3, 2015:
Standing by the Sun Yat-sen statue at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza, kumu Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu reflected on a recent journey to southern China to explore her family roots.
There, in a small village more than 5,500 miles from home, she found acceptance from long-lost relatives, a powerful testament to the role of family in self-identity.
Being a mahu, or transgender person, as well as both Hawaiian and Chinese, defines her identity “in the middle” and is the subject of a documentary film, “Kumu Hina,” which premieres nationally on PBS’ “Independent Lens” on Monday in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The film, by Haleiwa filmmakers Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, tells of Wong-Kalu’s evolution from a timid high school boy to a confident mahu and respected kumu and community leader in modern-day Honolulu.
All through her struggles, family is what gave her strength.
“My purpose in this life is to pass on the true meaning of aloha — love, honor and respect,” says Wong-Kalu in the film. “It’s a responsibility that I take very seriously.”
Born a boy named Collin, Wong-Kalu was raised by both a Hawaiian tutu on her mother’s side, Mona Kealoha, and a Chinese popo on her father’s side, Edith Kamque Luke.
“My Hawaiian tutu and popo were the most influential in my life,” Wong-Kalu said in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “Both of them raised me to be very cognizant and respectful, and to be very mindful of Hawaiian culture and Chinese culture.”
With both parents working full time, Wong-Kalu spent much of her childhood with extended family — the Hawaiian side in Mililani and the Chinese side in Liliha.
With the Hawaiian side, she was called the “pake child” because of her more Asian looks. The Chinese side referred to her as the “Hawaiian one” because of her darker skin and larger size.
“I grew up in the middle,” said Wong-Kalu, whose parents separated when she was in the second grade. “I grew up not belonging completely to one or the other. Being both, and going to one side, they always consider you ‘the other.’”
So it was, as well, with gender.
Wong-Kalu, 42, remembers from a very young age feeling that she was more female than male. She would sneak into her mother’s closet while she was away at work.
“I’d put on her clothes and high heels and prance around the house for hours on end,” she said. “I wanted to be as beautiful as my mother.”
It was after graduating from Kamehameha Schools in 1990 and attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa that Wong-Kalu fully emerged as a transgender, taking the name Hina.
Besides being teased in elementary and middle schools for being too girlish, she was also taunted for her Chinese name, Kwai Kong, with kids calling her “King Kong” or “Ding Dong.”
“It was very hurtful,” said Wong-Kalu.
She said she found refuge in Hawaiian culture, where mahu — those who embody both the male and female spirit — are respected as a source of ancient knowledge.
Her father’s Chinese side of the family also accepted her transition. During high school Wong-Kalu had stayed mostly in Liliha, becoming the primary caregiver for Luke up to her death in 1997.
“Because I was the caregiver for the matriarch and everybody loved her, they all loved and accepted me,” she said. “She was the kindest one.”
Wong-Kalu has three older siblings — two sisters and a brother, famed Honolulu chef Alan Wong. She said her father, Henry Dai Yau Wong, a former U.S. Army sergeant and man of few words, accepted her as well.
“No matter my father’s internal struggles — and he did struggle — with the changes in my life, he never, ever made me feel less than — ever.”
An invitation to join Hamer and Wilson at the Beijing Queer Film Festival in September turned out to be the perfect opportunity for Wong-Kalu to search for her father’s relatives, with whom the family had lost touch. Through research, Wong-Kalu was able to find the name of her grandmother’s village, Gam Sek, in southern China.
Her popo, Luke, had always kept a framed family portrait in a side cabinet and Wong-Kalu brought a copy of it with her when she and the filmmakers took a two-hour taxi drive past numerous factories to the stone gate at the entrance to the small village.
Upon entering, Wong-Kalu met Luc Lu Moy, wife of a distant cousin. At an ancestral shrine there, she found a matching copy of the family portrait. It turns out a great uncle from Honolulu had brought it with him in the 1970s.
“I burst into tears,” said Wong-Kalu. She placed her lei over the photo.
To introduce herself, Wong-Kalu showed the film to her relatives in China and found they embraced her despite her transgender identity.
“KUMU HINA” follows Wong-Kalu in her former role as cultural director of Halau Lokahi, a Hawaiian public charter school, as she prepares students for an end-of-the-year performance. According to the filmmakers, the documentary is as much about the importance of understanding one’s culture as it is about family and societal acceptance of those who are different.
“This is really a reflection, through Hina’s life, of what family values can mean in the most positive and comprehensive sense,” Wilson said. “With her (students), she often talks about no matter who you are, where you come from, you should know there’s a place in the middle for you.”
A 25-minute version of the film, titled “A Place in the Middle,” is available for free through PBS Learning Media along with a classroom discussion guide for educators.
For Wong-Kalu, finding acceptance from relatives in China, a country where most transgenders largely remain invisible, was affirming. It was in the same spirit of aloha that she lives by.
Standing in Honolulu’s Chinatown, Wong-Kalu cited an inscription below the Sun Yat-sen statue that reads, “All under heaven are equal.”
Besides Beijing, “Kumu Hina” screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival in April 2014 and has been shown on the U.S. mainland and in Tahiti.
“The film emphasizes my life as a Hawaiian, but I am also very influenced by my life as a descendant of some of the very first Chinese that came to Hawaii,” Wong-Kalu said. “The influence on me makes me very devoted to the name of the family and to honor my parents and grandparents.”
On the Net:
» Learn more about “Kumu Hina” - kumuhina.com.
» Learn about PBS/Independent Lens - pbs.org/independentlens/kumu-hina/.
» Watch the trailer - https://youtu.be/MWAM1738JbM.
» Order “A Place in the Middle” with free classroom discussion guide at aplaceinthemiddle.org.
KUMU HINA: A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE to Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, February 5–15, 2015
Produced & Directed by O'ahu residents Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson in association with Pacific Islanders in Communications, the film tells the story of a young girl who aspires to lead her school’s all-male hula troupe and a teacher who uses Hawaiian culture to empower her.
“A true life Whale Rider!” -Huffington Post
January 20, 2015 – (Haleiwa, HI) – KUMU HINA: A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE is one of 65 films from 35 countries selected for the 65th Berlinale’s Generation programme, a slate of state-of-the-art world cinema devoted to children and young people seen by more than 60,000 attendees annually.
Firmly grounded in their respective cultural contexts, the selected films paint sensitive portraits of extraordinary characters often living in hermetically sealed worlds. “We experience young people who bear too much weight on their shoulders,” as section head Maryanne Redpath describes one of this year’s recurring themes. “The high degree of self-determination with which these children and adolescents liberate themselves from their predicaments is striking.”
A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE is the educational version of Hamer and Wilson’s feature documentary KUMU HINA, which was the Closing Night Feature in the Hawai'i International Film Festival’s 2014 Spring Showcase. The film has traveled the world for festival, campus, and community screenings, and will have its national PBS broadcast on Independent Lens on May 4, 2015.
In A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE, eleven year-old Ho'onani dreams of leading the hula troupe at her Honolulu middle school. The only trouble is that the troupe is just for boys. She’s fortunate that her devoted teacher, Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu, understands first-hand what it means to be ‘in the middle’ – embracing both male and female spirit. Together, as they prepare for a big year-end public performance, student and teacher reveal that what matters most is what’s in one’s heart.
With nearly 500,000 visitors each year, the Berlinale is the largest publicly attended film festival in the world. A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE was one of over 5,000 submissions to the festival this year, and the only selection from Hawai‘i.
“An inspiring coming-of-age story on the power of culture to shape identity, personal agency, and community cohesion, from a young person’s point-of-view.” -Cara Mertes, Ford Foundation’s JustFilms
“I know that this film will bring understanding and enlightenment to all who view it.” -Leanne Ferrer, Pacific Islanders in Communications
Festival info: https://www.berlinale.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/alle/Alle-Detail_26456.html
Film web site: http://aplaceinthemiddle.org/
