Dean Hamer
Dean Hamer is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker, New York Times Book of the Year author, and NIH scientist emeritus with a long history in communicating complex and controversial ideas to diverse publics. He formed Qwaves with partner Joe Wilson to produce insightful and provocative documentaries about often overlooked social issues. Their films have been supported by Sundance, the Ford Foundation, ITVS and Pacific Islanders in Communications, screened and won awards at film festivals across the world including Tribeca, Berlin and Toronto, and used as outreach and educational tools by a wide range of community and educational organizations.
Out in the Silence, the first feature film from Qwaves, premiered at Lincoln Center and became a highly visible model for the use of film for social activism. In 2011, Hamer and Wilson moved to the north shore of O'ahu, Hawai'i to begin work on a series of films about Pacific Islander issues and voices. Their features Kumu Hina and Leitis in Waiting, and the accompanying shorts A Place in the Middle and Lady Eva, have opened the eyes of the world to the lessons to be learned from Polynesia's unique approach to gender and inclusion
In addition to his film work, Hamer is the author of several best selling nonfiction books including The Science of Desire and The God Gene, a consultant for the BBC and Discovery channels, and a sought-after lecturer and guest on TV documentaries and news shows including Nightline and Oprah.
Email: Deanhamer@aol.com
HINALEIMOANA WONG-KALU
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu is a Native Hawaiian teacher, cultural practitioner and filmmaker who uses digital media to protect and perpetuate indigenous languages and traditions. She began her film work as a protagonist and educational advisor for the award winning films Kumu Hina and A Place in the Middle, and received a National Education Association Human Rights Award, Native Hawaiian Educator of the year and White House Champion of Change Award for the groundbreaking impact campaigns associated with those films. Continuing her journey to the other side of the lens, Kumu Hina produced the PBS/ARTE feature documentary Leitis in Waiting and award-winning short Lady Eva about her transgender sisters in the Kingdom of Tonga. Hina is also a transgender health advocate, burial council chair, candidate for the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and composer of “Ku Haaheo E Kuu Hawaii,” the internationally-known anthem for the protection of Mauna Kea which was honored as Hawaiian Song of the Year in the 2020 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, known as the Hawaiian Grammys.
Email: KumuHina@yahoo.com
Joe Wilson
Joe Wilson is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and human rights advocate whose work with Dean Hamer, his partner in life and film-activism, explores oppression and empowerment among society's most vulnerable communities.
Wilson & Hamer's 2010 PBS film Out in the Silence, a Sundance Documentary Fund grantee, focused on the challenges of LGBT people in rural and small town America and became the centerpiece of a multi-year national campaign to open dialogue and build bridges across socio-political divides. These efforts were highlighted in impact reports by the Center for Social Media at American University and The Fledgling Fund.
Their 2014 PBS films Kumu Hina and A Place in the Middle brought Hawaiian cultural perspectives to the fore in national and international conversations on issues of gender diversity and inclusion. Kumu Hina was supported by Pacific Islanders in Communications and ITVS, won the Audience Award for its national PBS broadcast on Independent Lens, and received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary. A Place in the Middle premiered at the Berlinale and won awards at numerous children's festivals around the world. The film and educational toolkit, available to all for free, are at the center of a strength-based school-focused educational campaign.
In 2018, Wilson & Hamer released Leitis in Waiting and Lady Eva, a documentary feature and short about the conservative south Pacific Kingdom of Tonga's evolving approach to gender fluidity.
Their most recent film, the animated short Kapaemahu, premiered in the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, won an unprecedented four Oscar-qualifying jury awards in international festivals, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2021.
Previously, Wilson served as Director of the Human Rights and Global Security Program at Public Welfare Foundation in Washington, D.C. and Producer of Pacifica National Radio's public affairs program Democracy Now. He received a B.A. in Sociology and Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the West African nation of Mali.
Email: QwavesJoe@yahoo.com