My Name Was January has earned itself another award.
The short documentary film was made in tribute to January Lapuz, who was killed in her New Westminster home in 2012. It looks at both January’s life and the challenges faced by trans women, in particular trans women of colour.
The film, directed by Lenee Son and Elina Gress, was recently named a 2019 Royal Reel Winner at the Canada International Film Festival held at the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver. The film has garnered 10 awards, eight finalist mentions, three semi-finalist mentions and 31 official selections at film festivals around the world.
Among those honours, it was named Best LGBTQ Film at the Los Angeles Film Awards.
The film had its Metro Vancouver premiere in February in Surrey, and two more public screenings and panel discussion events are set for September at Surrey City Centre Library.
For more about the film, see www.januarylapuz.net.
You can also read more about its making in a feature story from the Record.
