In honor of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle is proud to present a special online TransAction screening of the film ‘Leitis in Waiting’ followed by Talanoa with Leiti and Transgender activist Joleen Mataele who is featured in the film. “Leitis in Waiting” is the story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga leitis, an intrepid group of native 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 organizes 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 would criminalize the leitis’ lives. With unexpected humor 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 who you are.

Please tune in to U.T.O.P.A. Seattle’s facebook page or youtube channel on May 7, 2020 Thursday evening at 7pm to watch with us and hear from the amazing Joleen Mataele.