A Case Study in Decolonial Documentary: Call Her Ganda

What does it mean to decolonize film not just in theory, but in practice? In episode 2, Maggie and Emily speak with filmmaker PJ Raval, who recently led an all-Filipino directing and producing team to create Call Her Ganda, which tells the story of three women intimately invested in justice for Jennifer Laude, a Filipina trans woman who was brutally murdered by a U.S. Marine; together they galvanize a political uprising, pursue justice and take on hardened histories of US imperialism. We speak with PJ about how he came to realize his responsibility to work on this project, the process of creating a transnational production team with the depth of experience and sensitivity necessary to execute it across borders, and what he learned about U.S.-Philippine colonial history and himself along the way.