Thursday evening, the Tipton Gallery in downtown Johnson City hosted a screening of the documentary “Call her Ganda.” The documentary focused on the murder of a transgender Filipino woman and how her death sent shock waves around the country.
The screening of “Call her Ganda” was hosted by The Department of Art and Design, the Department of Media and Communication, The Department of Literature and Language, The Women Studies Department, The East Tennessee Foundation and The Tennessee Arts Commission.
“I’m excited to have you see the movie,” PJ Raval, the director of the documentary, said before the film.
“Call her Ganda” focuses on the 2014 murder of Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman from the Philippines. Laude was murdered by then 19-year-old Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton.
Though the documentary followed the trial, it also focused on Laude’s family, transgender rights in the Philippines and how American colonialism affected the history of the country and still affect the country today.
After the viewing of the documentary, a panel talked about the documentary and answered audience questions.
“I happened to be in the Philippines right after the crime was committed,” Director PJ Raval said. “Kind of a long story short, I was on a panel for LGBTQ+ rights. and I happened to be sitting next to Vergie Suarez, the Laude family lawyer … I didn’t really know the extent and depth of the crime and what it really represented to a lot of people until that panel.”
Raval said that at the LGBTQ+ panel, Suarez showed a clip of Jennifer’s mother saying she wasn’t going to rest until someone answered for the crime. Raval said he was moved by the clip, and that was what sparked the idea for creating the documentary.
Raval admitted that he wasn’t sure if he was the right person to make the documentary as an American, but after speaking more with Suarez and Trans activists, they were very encouraging.
“I started thinking, ‘Well maybe I should do this,'” Raval said. “As a member of the queer community, I am aware of all the violence and discrimination. Then I started thinking, ‘Well also as an American, I’m very aware of my privilege and standing in the Philippines,’ … and I started looking at it as maybe I can use my resources to contribute to this.”
Raval said it’s important to pay attention to the impact of Jennifer Laude’s story and how a local community should help marginalized groups.
“The people out in the street that were marching for Jennifer were not just Trans people,” Raval said. “…We as a society tend to think that if there is an issue facing a certain community that it’s their responsibility to take care of that issue … It’s unfair to have that burden carried by the community that’s under attack. The whole community should be involved.”
