PJ Raval is a queer first-generation Filipino-American filmmaker known for his documentary films about underrepresented subcultures and identities within the LGBTQ+ community. 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 Filmmakers 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 in the University of Texas at Austin.
Early life PJ Raval was born on April 15, 1974, in Princeton, New Jersey, but was raised in Clovis, California. Raval lived in San Diego for 10 years, then obtained an MFA in Film and Media Production at the University of Texas at Austin.
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 in Trinidad, Colorado.
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.
Raval is the director of CALL HER GANDA, a 2018 feature documentary about Jennifer Laude, a Filipina transgender woman from the city of Olongapo 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: 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 Moody College of Communication in the University of Texas at Austin.
Filmography
Features Year Title Contribution Notes 2002 The Politics of Fur Associate Producer 2003 Girl Wrestler Additional Camera Operator 2005 Room Cinematographer Won – Woodstock Film Festival Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography 2005 Troop 1500 Cinematographer 2006 The Cassidy Kids Cinematographer 2006 Slam Planet Additional Camera Operator 2006 When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan Additional Camerawork 2006 Gretchen Cinematographer 2007 The Devil Came on Horseback Additional Cinematographer 2008 Trouble the Water Cinematographer 2008 Critical condition Additional Camera 2008 Dirt Cinematographer 2008 Trinidad Director/Producer/Cinematographer Won – Cleveland International Film Festival Award for Best DocumentaryNominated – Los Angeles Film Festival Award for Best Documentary 2009 The 2 Bobs Cinematographer 2009 Along Came Kinky ... Texas Jewboy for Governor Camera Operator 2009 Winnebago Man Additional Photography 2009 Sunshine Additional Cinematography 2011 Slacker Director (segment: "Rantings")Nominated – Sundance Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize Nominated – Film Independent Spirit Awards, Independent Spirit Award 2011 Habibi Rasak Kharban Cinematographer 2012 Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines Additional cinematography 2012 Sunset Stories Cinematographer 2012 Foreplay Cinematographer 2012 The Bounceback Cinematographer 2013 Before You Know It Director/ProducerWon – Dallas Asian Film Festival Best Documentary Won – Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Audience Award Nominated - Austin Film Critics Association Austin Film Award2018Call Her GandaDirector/ProducerWon – Inside Out Toronto Film Festival Award for Best Documentary Won – Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding North American Documentary Feature2023Who We BecomeDirector/Producer
Television work Year Title Contribution Notes 2004-2010 Independent Lens Camera Operator/Sound Season 6, Episode 6: "Girl Wrestler"Season 7, Episode 17: "Troop 1500"Season 11, Episode 24: "Sunshine"Season 11, Episode 25: "The Horse Boy" 2008 POV Camera Operator Season 21, Episode 9: "Critical Condition"
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