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Austin Filmmaker PJ Raval Explores Filipino American Life in Texas with Netflix’s “Who We Become”

By: Sophie Leclerc
Publication: Hoodline
January 10, 2024
By ARRAY
January 10, 2024

Veteran Austin filmmaker PJ Raval turns the lens on the Filipino American experience in Texas with his new documentary, “Who We Become,” now streaming on Netflix. Featured on the big screen at the AFS Cinema on Jan. 11, Raval’s doc captures the lives of three young Filipino Texan women against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, social justice causes, and their familial dynamics, as reported by American-Statesman.

With a portfolio spanning over two decades featuring more than 30 director credits, Raval is no stranger to compelling narratives. “Who We Become” focuses on Lauren Yap, Monica Silverio, and Jenah Maravilla, portraying their engagement with issues such as Black Lives Matter and the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes. Despite the cinematic limitations imposed by the pandemic, Raval managed to curate content from a variety of digital forms, from texts to social media, coordinating the footage remotely. “I even created almost like assignment sheets on things for them to think about and look out for, and, ideas of what to film and how to physically capture footage,” Raval told the American-Statesman.

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