Film editor, producer and trans advocate Charlize Toratani returns to her alma mater to present a free public lecture on her pathway to a successful career in film making and advocacy. Her talk, “Surviving Hollywood Through Barriers of Gender and Race,” will be held on April 3 at noon in Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Toratani has more than a decade of experience in the film industry with recent editing credits that include The Miracle Season starring Helen Hunt and William Hurt, and producer credits for Untogether starring Jamie Dornan, Ben Mendelsohn, Lola Kirke and Scott Caan.
Toratani hails from Honolulu and graduated in 2008 from UH Mānoa’s Academy of Creative Media (ACM). She was among the first graduates of the fledgling program and participated in the exchange program, which allowed her to study in Shanghai.
She is also an advocate for the LGBTQ community, particularly the transgender community, serving as an organizer for the LA Trans Film Fest. Toratani is an associate programmer and jury member for many film festivals, most currently for Outfest.
Toratani is the first featured speaker in a new series of talks sponsored by UH Mānoa’s Asian studies program called Roads Less Taken.
“Many of our students are encouraged to pursue career goals that are considered ‘normal and desirable’ by their parents, particularly in the Asian community,” said organizer Pattie Dunn, an undergraduate student advisor in the Asian studies program. “We want to provide our students a platform to explore some of the other career paths our alums have chosen that have led to successful and satisfying careers.”
“Surviving Hollywood Through Barriers of Gender and Race” is co-sponsored by the Asian Studies Program and Academy of Creative Media, and made possible by funding from SEED IDEAS. Seating is in the Tokioka Room is limited and early arrival is encouraged.
