Jennifer Laude documentary receives Sundance funding

MANILA, Philippines – The production of a documentary about Jennifer Laude has been funded by the Sundance Institute, the organization announced on Monday, October 31.

Justice for Jennifer follows the death of Jennifer Laude, a Filipino transgender woman who was killed by US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton in 2014.

Pemberton was convicted of homicide in 2015, following a trial where he admitted to strangling Laude after he discovered she had male genitals.

Pemberton appealed to reverse his conviction in January, but lost his appeal. However, his jail term was reduced from 12 years to 10.

A summary of the documentary on the Sundance site describes: “Grassroots activists in the Philippines are spurred into action when a local transgender woman is found dead in a motel room with a 19-year-old US marine as the leading suspect. As they demand answers and a just trial, hidden histories of U.S. colonization come bubbling to the surface.”

Justice for Jennifer is directed by award-winning filmmaker PJ Raval, who is behind documentaries like Before You Know It – about 3 gay men over the age of 55 – and Trinidad – which explores Trinidad, Colorado as the “sex-change capital of the world.”

Aside from Sundance, Raval’s website says that Justice for Jennifer is also supported by the Guggenheim Foundation, Bertha Foundation, Arcus Foundation, Center of Asian-American Media, Firelight Media, Austin Film Society, and the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division.

Justice for Jennifer is also part of the Bertha Foundation Fellowship, a fellowship by Sundance in partnership with the Bertha Foundation. It offers financial, creative, legal, and strategic resources to documentary filmmakers.

The documentary is produced by Marty Syjuco, who is behind the Emmy-nominated Give Up Tomorrow, Sara Giustini, who worked with Raval on Before You Know It, and Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, contributing producer to CNN, president of the ICANSERVE Foundation, and founding partner of AsianEye Productions and Storytellers International Inc.

Sundance, which was founded in 1981, is a non-profit organization that supports and develops independent artists. – Rappler.com