PJ Raval is a queer first-generation

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

filmmaker known for his documentary films about underrepresented subcultures and identities within the

LGBTQ+ community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and social ...

. Raval is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Robert Giard Fellow, a member of the Producers Guild of America, and the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences. Raval was named one of ''

Filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

''s ''25 New Faces of Independent Film'' in 2006 and was a featured creator in the 2010 '' Out 100''. Today, he lives in Texas and is an associate professor of the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the

Moody College of Communication The Moody College of Communication is the communication college at The University of Texas at Austin. The college is home to top-ranked programs in advertising and public relations, communication studies, communication sciences and disorders, jou ...

in the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Early life

PJ Raval was born on April 15, 1974, in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, but was raised in

Clovis, California Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. The 2020 population was 120,124. Clovis is located northeast of downtown Fresno, at an elevation of 361 feet (110 m). History The city of Clovis began as a freight stop along the S ...

. Raval lived in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

for 10 years, then obtained an MFA in Film and Media Production at the

Career

In 2008, PJ Raval co-directed the documentary film '' TRINIDAD: Transgender Frontier'' with Jay Hodges. ''TRINIDAD'' focuses on Dr. Marci Bowers and two of her patients undergoing

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and s ...

. Raval's 2013 documentary '' Before You Know It'' focuses on the different narratives of three gay seniors. He was inspired to create the work after meeting a group of gay retirees at a screening of TRINIDAD at the

Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center was founded in 2005 as the community center for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer residents of the mid-Hudson Valley. The Center is located in a three-story building at the corner of Wall ...

. Raval is the director of ''CALL HER GANDA'', a 2018 feature documentary about Jennifer Laude, a Filipina transgender woman from the city of

Olongapo Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...

murdered by a 19-year-old US marine''.'' The film addresses the topic of transphobia and how transgender individuals are being targeted and eliminated by the Catholic Church and organized religion. In addition to Laude's murder case, the film confronts issues with imperialism, poverty, and the tense relationship between the United States and the Philippines. Raval centers community voices, including those of activist attorney Virgie Suarez, transgender journalist Meredith Talusan, and Julita Jaude, Jennifer Laude's mother. The film has received dozens of awards and nominations, including winning documentary categories at the 2019 Boston LGBT Film Festival, the 2019 Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival, the 2018 Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival, 2018 L.A. Outfest, the 2018 New Delhi Film Festival, and the 2020

NLGJA NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, is an American professional association dedicated to unbiased coverage of LGBT, LGBTQ issues in the media. It is based in Washington, D.C., and the membership consists primarily of journalists, student ...

: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Excellence in Documentary Awards. The production was supported by the Ford Foundation, Arcus, Bertha Foundation, Sundance Film Institute, Fork Films, and the Tribeca Film Institute. Raval's short films have won many awards, including “Best Narrative Short” at the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Int’l Film Festival, “Best Screenplay” at the Cinematexas Int’l Film Festival, the “Betty Nowlin Award for Excellence in Filmmaking”, and the “Director’s Visionary Award” at the Santa Cruz Film Festival. Raval has also directed music videos for various musical performers and bands, including Wild Beasts, The Sword, and Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat. Raval is an associate professor at the

in the

Filmography

Features

Television work

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raval, PJ American cinematographers American film directors English-language film directors Living people 1974 births