Dean Hamer is a National Institutes of Science scientist emeritus, a New York Times book-of-the-year author, and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker with a long history of communicating complex and controversial ideas to diverse audiences. He formed Qwaves with partner Joe Wilson to produce films that emanate from the voices of those on the outside and compel viewers to question and to act. Their Sundance-supported PBS documentary Out in the Silence was used as a tool for grassroots anti-bullying advocacy in small towns and rural areas communities across the country. They moved to Hawai'i in 2011 to produce their current PBS Independent Lens film, Kumu Hina, first in a series of pieces about Pacific Islander voices.
