The violent murder of local trans woman Jennifer Laude, by US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton during his "liberty leave" in Olongapo City, ignites a media firestorm, a high-profile court case and street protests. Three women intimately invested in the case combine forces to demand justice: activist attorney Virgie Suarez, transgender investigative journalist Meredith Talusan and Jennifer's mother, Julita. Taking on well-established legal precedents that ensure US military presence and impunity in the Philippines and perpetuate transphobia, the women aim to end the pattern of American predators evading criminal consequences. In death, Jennifer becomes a flashpoint for national discussion about gender-based violence, transgender discrimination and the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States, bringing disparate issues and players together under a common cause. Call Her Ganda forges a profoundly humanistic geopolitical investigative exposé from personal tragedy and insists that justice and systemic change can't come soon enough. Angie Driscoll
Co-presented with Xtra.