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FESTIVAL SCREENINGS IN 2025

MĀHŪ: A TRANS-PACIFIC LOVE STORY

Māhū: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter Trailer

The film explores the history of the Hawaiian term māhū by interweaving the multi-media stage performance featuring the hula dance, chant, and music around intimate interviews with the artistic collaborators of the show who are all acclaimed Hawaiian transgender artists.

SYNOPSIS

MĀHŪ is a short documentary film that explores the Native Hawaiian concept of gender fluidity through an innovative theater production by Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne that aims to reclaim the traditional place of honor and pride given to māhū, or transgender, people. The film explores the history of the Hawaiian term māhū by interweaving the multi-media stage performance featuring the hula dance, chant, and music around intimate interviews with the artistic collaborators of the show who are all acclaimed Hawaiian transgender artists. As they prepare to open the MĀHŪ show in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, we meet Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a revered community leader, kumu hula, and filmmaker known for her activism in the field of kanaka maoli language and cultural preservation; Iwalani Hoʻomanawanui Apo, a revered loea, or expert, of Hawaiian music and master falsetto singer in the beloved Hawaiian music trio, Kuini; and Kaumakaiwa Kanakaʻole, a multi-award winning performer and great-grandchild of esteemed Kumu Hula Edith Kanakaʻole who was one of the seminal figures of the Hawaiian Renaissance. These contemporary artists share intergenerational stories from both older and younger māhū experiences that highlight the difficulties of navigating their transgender identities. In showcasing the talent of the ensemble who are expressing themselves artistically with openness and confidence, in a genuine and culturally connected way, MĀHŪ embraces the wide spectrum of gender rooted in the strength and validity of Hawaiian queer and transgender identities.

 

The term māhū itself is one of the most controversial words in all of the Hawaiian language, and one that has been used in the derogatory and pejorative sense which is now being reclaimed in this creative showcase to bring it out of shame. Māhū is the traditional Hawaiian term for transgender or the “expression of the third self which embodies both male and female aspects within while acknowledging and embracing both.” Māhū were an integral part of Hawaiian culture before the arrival of missionaries in the 1820s, respected as cultural standard bearers, artisans and healers. Today in many Pacific Islander communities, māhū still face discrimination and unequal treatment due to their gender identity. MĀHŪ serves as a reminder to the Native Hawaiian community and the world that before colonization, before Western concepts of gender and colonial prejudice, there was an indigenous sensibility of queer culture that celebrated cultural truths based on inclusivity, diversity, and aloha. 

 

Lead featured artist Patrick Makuakāne is a creative force in the hula world whose innovative art springs from an avowedly queer and socially conscious perspective. Patrick Makuakāne is a kumu hula, or master hula teacher, known for blending traditional hula with contemporary music and subject matter. Since 1985, he has forged his own unique form of hula – hula mua, or hula that evolves, with his San Francisco-based dance company, Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu. With his work, Patrick continually reaches out beyond the Hawaiian community to present hula to larger and more diverse audiences, within a format that is progressive, provocative, and yet still genuinely Hawaiian. 

 

Key Creative Team

Directed & Produced by Lisette Marie Flanary

Executive Producers Patrick Makuakāne, Dean Hamer & Joe Wilson

Director of Photography Keliʻi Grace

Additional Videography Gerard Elmore & Romeo Lapitan

Location Sound Recordist John McFadden

Editor Jhante Iga

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Film Screenigs

FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

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San Francisco Dance Film Festival

San Francisco, CA

 

October 24-November 9, 2025

November 8, 2025 @ 6pm

The Brava Theater

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Hawaiʻi International Film Festival/

Made in Hawaiʻi Competition

Honolulu, HI (Hawaiʻi Premiere)

October 16-30, 2025

October 17 @ 6 PM

followed by Q&A

October 26 @ 12:15 PM

Consolidated Theaters Kahala

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Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest

Sunnyvale, CA

October 17-19, 2025

October 18 @ 5:15 PM

Sunnyvale AMC Dine-In

followed by live performance with 

Patrick Makuakāne & Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu

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Native Spirit Film Festival

London, England

 

October 12-18, 2025

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Bend Film Festival

Bend, OR

 

October 8-12, 2025

October 10 @ 2:30 PM

October 11 @ 10 AM​

"Crossroads" shorts program @ Open Space Theater

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Out on Film

Atlanta, GA


September 25-October 5, 2025

October 3 @ 4:00 PM

Landmarkʻs Midtown Art Cinema

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Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival

Oslo, Norway


September 19-28, 2025

September 24 @ 5pm "Horizons II" 

Oslo Cinemateket

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Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival

Palm Springs, CA

 

September 18-21 and 25-28, 2025

September 25 @ 12 PM

Palm Springs Cultural Center

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OUTSOUTH Film Festival

Durham, North Carolina

August 15, 2025 @ 4:50 PM

August 16, 2025 @ 9:20 PM

August 21, 2025 @ 5:20 PM

​The Carolina Theater

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Doc Edge Film Festival​ New Zealand

Auckland

July 5, 2025 (International Premiere)

July 7, 2025

The Capital Cinema & Bridgeway Cinema

Wellington

July 22, 2025

Roxy Cinema

 

Christchurch

Lumiere Cinema

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Seattle Asian American Film Festival

Seattle, WA

June 21, 2025 @ 8:15 PM

The Broadway Performance Hall

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FRAMELINE: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival​

San Francisco, CA (Queer Premiere)

 

June 19, 2025 @ 5:30–6:30 PM

KQED Theatre

Followed by performance from Patrick Makuakāne

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

​Los Angeles, CA (World Premiere)

 

May 2, 2025​ @ 4:00 PM

DGA Theatre

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Pacific Island Film Festival     

New York City ​


September 18-21, 2025

September 20 @ 6pm

"Rising Tides" program

Village East by Angelika 

FEATURING

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KUMU HULA
PATRICK MAKUAKĀNE
HINALEIMOANA
WONG-KALU
IWALANI
HOʻOMANAWANUI APO
KAUMAKAIWA
KANAKAʻOLE
The DANCERS OF
NĀ LEI HULU I KA WĒKIU

PRESS KIT

MĀHŪ is a co-production of Lehua Films, LLC. and Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

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CONTACT

Say hello. Let's work together.

Complete the form or reach out via email at lisette@lehuafilms.com, or by phone at

808-956-5302.

 

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of a film for use in educational institutions, libraries or other organizations, please contact Lisette Flanary for institutional rates. Purchase orders can be emailed to lisette@lehuafilms.com. 

 

Please note that companion discussion guides and educator's materials are available for films. Mahalo!

Mahalo for submitting!

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© Lehua Films, LLC.

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