{"id":52336,"date":"2015-06-19T18:15:23","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T10:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=52336"},"modified":"2015-06-19T18:15:23","modified_gmt":"2015-06-19T10:15:23","slug":"fil-ams-docu-about-transgenders-gains-recognition-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/06\/19\/fil-ams-docu-about-transgenders-gains-recognition-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Fil-Am\u2019s docu about transgenders gains recognition abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""Shunned"<\/a>
“Shunned” movie poster (Facebook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Filipino-American Janice Villarosa\u2019s \u201cShunned,\u201d a documentary depicting the discrimination and other struggles the transgender community faces, \u00a0has been touring film festivals abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe journey has been difficult. I wanted to wave the white flag a number of times. But I cannot give up. I made a promise and I always try to keep my word. Now that the film is finished, my work has just begun,\u201d Villarosa said.<\/p>\n

Last October, the documentary was screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival and was nominated for the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had two almost packed screenings and the audience was engaged and had lots of questions,\u201d Villarosa recalled.<\/p>\n

A month after its screening in Hawaii, \u201cShunned\u201d was then shown at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in Florida and won the Spirit of Independence Award.<\/p>\n

And earlier this year, the documentary was also screened at the Historic Waimes Theater in Hawaii and at the Beloit International Film Festival in Wisonsin.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, we had a screening at the Cebu International Documentary Film Festival… But I really want to show it in Manila where most of the cast members, including \u00a0Mimi Juareza, live,\u201d Villarosa said.<\/p>\n

Juareza reccently won a best actor award in Cinemalaya for his role in \u201cQuick Change,\u201d an independent film about a lesbian struggling as a mother and wife.<\/p>\n

Villarosa has been thankful for all the recognition her documentary has been gaining. She looked forward to more screenings where she could further send the message of antidiscrimination towards transgenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey inspire me… In spite of what they have been through, they still managed to pick themselves up and keep going,\u201d Villarosa said. \u201cI promised the cast that if they use this film as their sounding board, I will make sure that they will be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a deep advocacy for the transgenders, Villarosa has been frequently asked if she was a transgender herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not mind at all… I understand it\u2019s natural for people to wonder because I am so passionate about this cause,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople would size me up and look at me from head to toe. The most jarring reaction was from a guy who demanded that I drop my pants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experiencing a demeaning treatment herself, all the more Villarosa sought to raise awareness. She also hoped that the case of Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman who was allegedly murdered for her sexual preference, would not reoccur.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy advocacy is antidiscrimination and antihate crime,\u201d Villarosa said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Filipino-American Janice Villarosa\u2019s \u201cShunned,\u201d a documentary depicting the discrimination and other struggles the transgender community faces, \u00a0has been touring film …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":52337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-entertainment-ph","mauthors-cyra-moraleda","mauthors-philippine-canadian-inquirer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}