Call Her Ganda (2018)

Call Her Ganda: Directed by PJ Raval. With Naomi Fontanos, Jennifer Laude, Julita Laude, Virginia Lacsa Suarez. When Jennifer Laude, a Filipina trans woman, is brutally murdered by a U.S. Marine, three women intimately invested in the case–an activist attorney, a transgender journalist and Jennifer’s mother)–galvanize a political uprising, pursuing justice and taking on hardened histories of US imperialism.

“5.8? No reviews? Maybe this is what happens if no one gets paid to write about a film, especially if itu0026#39;s as uncomfortable to watch for Americans as this one.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story of a US marine convicted of murdering transgender woman Jennifer Laude was a turning point in US-Philippines relations, because the conviction was upheld, yet the whole procedure showed how the US yield their power of u0026quot;legal holdu0026quot;, that is to say their practice of shielding military personnel from legal prosecution overseas. Theyu0026#39;ve done this in Okinawa, where the population constantly protests against the US base because of a shocking regularity of rape. Theyu0026#39;ve done this in Italy when a reckless pilot cut a ski liftu0026#39;s rope, and theyu0026#39;ve done this in the UK in the Harry Dunn case.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film isnu0026#39;t so much about Laude but her family seeking justice, and ends with the convicted marine in custody at a US base, although the court ordered him detained in a local prison. It is pointed out that in the United States, it would be unthinkable to release a foreign national convicted of murder into the custody of his homeland, and the deliberation with which the US is doing that here and elsewhere shows their colonial attitude towards military allies. It is also explained that the defendant used a u0026quot;gay panicu0026quot; defense which would meanwhile also be unacceptable in the US.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThings are in limbo at the end but thereu0026#39;s hope the convict will eventually serve his sentence; Laudeu0026#39;s mother shows proof of a bribe attempt, in which she would have dropped all charges in exchange for $90k. Iu0026#39;m writing this review because president Duterte has recently pardoned the convict, which he promised not to do (also in the film), and he has since returned to the US.”