Joseph Hall Wilson (born February 8, 1964) is an American film director and producer,[1] best known for documentaries and impact campaigns that explore oppression and empowerment among gender and sexual minority communities.
Prior to filmmaking, he served as Director of the Human Rights program at the Public Welfare Foundation in Washington, D.C.[2] Wilson's 2010 film Out in the Silence[3][4] focused on the challenges of LGBT people in his small hometown of Oil City, Pennsylvania.
[15] 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.
The film was co-produced by the protagonist of Kumu Hina, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, premiered at the British Museum in London,[18] broadcast on the PBS series Pacific Heartbeat, and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.
Wilson and Joey Joleen Mataele, the film's protagonist and a leading Tongan human rights advocate,[19] 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.