Leitis in Waiting
- Organizer: Margaret Mead Film Festival
- Venue: American Museum of Natural History
- Address:
Central Park West at 77th Street
New York, NY 10024 United States
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10/19/2018 06:30 PM
10/19/2018 06:30 PM
America/New_York
Leitis in Waiting
More detail: https://apa.nyu.edu/event/leitis-in-waiting/
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, 10024
A Margaret Mead Film Festival Screening. Co-presented by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU.
The Margaret Mead Film Festival hosts the New York premiere of Leitis in Waiting (72 min.), a feature documentary by Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu.
The film is set in the Kingdom of Tonga, where transgender women—known locally as leitis—have long been part of the cultural landscape. Some enjoy an honored role as attendants to the royal family. And they have played a significant role in advocating for transgender rights on the global stage. But a rising tide of religious fundamentalism and bigotry on the islands has raised new and virulent opposition to the leitis, threatening their human rights.