PJ Raval

PJ Raval is a queer, first-generation Filipinx American filmmaker whose work explores social justice through the lived experiences of queer and marginalized communities. Named one of Out Magazine's OUT 100 and POV’s 2024 Creative Visionary, his films have screened on Netflix, Hulu, PBS, Discovery, and Showtime.

His acclaimed documentary Before You Know It—a portrait of three gay seniors—was called “a crucial new addition to the LGBT doc canon” by indieWIRE and won the 2016 NLGJA Excellence in Documentary Award. His follow-up, Call Her Ganda, investigates the murder of trans woman Jennifer Laude by a U.S. Marine. Broadcast on POV (PBS), it was nominated for a Philippines Academy Award and launched an impact campaign with over 150 screenings and a private U.S. State Department meeting.

PJ’s latest film, Who We Become, follows three young Filipino American women in Texas during COVID-19. Distributed by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing, it's now streaming on Netflix. He is currently developing Love Visa, a feature co-written with Eileen Cabiling, supported by the SFFilm Rainin Grant and produced by Derek Nguyen of The Population.

Also an award-winning cinematographer, PJ shot the Academy Award-nominated Trouble the Water. He co-founded the NEA-supported queer arts organization OUTsider and serves on the Asian American Documentary Network’s steering committee. A Soros Justice Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, and USA Artist Fellow, PJ is a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he chairs the Asian Affinity Group.