in Hawaii, and was also used in a national educational campaign to “make a place in the middle in every classroom” in collaboration with PBS Learning Media and Teaching Tolerance. When a transgender student in Hawaii was denied the opportunity to participate in her graduation ceremony, Wilson produced a Youtube video about her case that was used to demand fair and consistent treatment of students across the gender spectrum. This motivated the Hawaii Department of Education to adopt policies and guidelines that protect students against discrimination based on their gender identity and expression, despite the erosion of such principles at the federal level. In 2018, Wilson and Hamer released the feature documentary Leitis in Waiting about transgender life in the Kingdom of Tonga. The film was co-produced by the protagonist of Kumu Hina, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, premiered at the British Museum in London, broadcast on the PBS series Pacific Heartbeat, and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. The accompanying documentary short Lady Eva premiered at the LA Film Festival and AFI Docs. Wilson and Joey Joleen Mataele, the film's protagonist and a leading Tongan human rights advocate, led an impact campaign to galvanize public support for a petition calling for the decriminalization of LGBTI people in the seven Pacific Island nations where such laws are still on the books. In 2020, Wilson, Hamer, and Wong-Kalu continued their collaboration by co-producing and directing the animated short film Kapaemahu. It is based on the hidden history of four stones on Waikiki Beach placed there as a tribute to four legendary mahu who first brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii. The film is narrated in Olelo Niihau, the only form of the Hawaiian language unbroken by Western contact and colonization. Kapaemahu premiered and won the Special Jury Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival, screened theatrically, won four Oscar-qualifying jury awards, and was shortlisted for Best Animated Short Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. References 1964 births Living people Film directors from Pennsylvania American documentary film directors Emmy Award winners University of Pittsburgh alumni