PJ Raval’s critically acclaimed documentary on Jennifer Laude, ‘Call Her Ganda’, is now available to stream locally on VivaMax.
In 2014, the murder of a Filipino transgender woman in Olongapo City clung to headlines amidst a police inquiry and media storm. Laude was brutally killed by American marine Joseph Scott Pemberton. Her story sparked an uprising around the world, with her death identified as a hate crime against the trans community. Four years later, a documentary on Laude’s case made its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Since its premiere in 2018, the documentary was screened in other renowned film festivals. ‘Call Her Ganda’ took home the Grand Jury Award from the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, and won the Best Documentary Audience Award at the Inside Out LGBT Film Festival.
Director PJ Raval previously worked on ‘Trinidad’ (2008), and ‘Before You Know It’ (2013). He is an associate professor at the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas in Austin, where Raval also earned his MFA in Film Production. His take on Jennifer Laude’s story has been well-reviewed by New York Times, Amazon, and The Hollywood Reporter.
Local audiences are finally able to stream it online on VivaMax. Following the fairly recent pardon of Pemberton, this new release will once again cast light on the injustices of this case.
Other POP! stories you might like:
Filipina led ‘Lingua Franca’ by Isabel Sandoval nominated in Spirit Awards
‘Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss’, the first PH short film at Sundance
‘Pito-Pito’ movies was the remedy of an ailing 90s Philippine cinema
Breaking down ‘Titibo-tibo’ and other anti-LGBTQ OPM songs
Framing Britney Spears: Not a girl, not yet a free woman