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Call Her Ganda

Documentary Competition

World Premiere

USA, Philippines | 98 MINUTES | English, Tagalog | English subtitles

CALL HER GANDA

Documentary, LGBT, Asian American Director(s), Tribeca Film Institute Alumni
In 2014, a transgender Filipina woman was brutally murdered and left in a motel room in the Philippines. When a U.S. Marine was identified as the primary suspect, it set off a cascading response of protests and legal action, revealing undercurrents of transphobia and deep-seated post-colonial tensions between the United States and the Philippines. Director PJ Raval follows investigative journalist Meredith Talusan as she immerses herself in the case and attempts to unravel these various tensions in the middle of a media firestorm. Meanwhile, attorney Virgie Suarez seeks to illuminate the truth from inside the courtroom, and the victim’s mother finds a voice she never knew she had. Call Her Ganda examines the marginalization of transgender Filipinos throughout the country’s violent colonial history and raises complex questions about sovereignty, justice, and the right to self-determination.

—Cara Cusumano

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by PJ Raval

Named one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in 2006, PJ Raval is an award-winning filmmaker whose credits include Trinidad, which premiered on Showtime, Before You Know It, on PBS, and, as a cinematographer, the Academy Award®-nominated Trouble the Water. Raval is a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow, a 2016 Firelight Fellow, and a 2017 Robert Giard Fellow.
Director
PJ Raval
Producers
PJ Raval, Lisa Valencia-Svensson, Marty Syjuco, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala
Screenwriters
PJ Raval, Victoria Chalk
Cinematographer
Mike Simpson
Editor
Victoria Chalk
Executive Producers
Jim Butterworth, Daniel Chalfen, Barbara Dobkin
Co-Executive Producers
Jean Tsien, Abigail Disney, Gini Reticker, James Costa, Jessica Devaney, Anya Rous
Original Music
Nathan Halpern, Chris Ruggiero
Cast
Virgie Suarez, Meredith Talusan, Julita Laude, Naomi Fontanos

CONTACTS

US Sales Contact
Ben Braun
Submarine Entertainment
New York, 10013
Phone: 212 625 1410
ben@submarine.com
International Sales Contact
Ben Braun
Submarine Entertainment
New York, 10013
Phone: 212 625 1410
ben@submarine.com
Press Contact
David Magdael
David Magdael & Associates
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Phone: 213 624 7827
dmagdael@dmagpr.com
Print Source
Lisa Valencia-Svensson
Unraval Pictures
Austin, TX 78722
Phone: 416 728 0851
lisa@aynakumedia.com