EXCLUSIVE: Array Releasing, the distribution arm of Ava DuVernay’s Peabody Award-winning narrative change collective Array, has picked up rights to the PJ Raval doc Who We Become for the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland. The film will debut exclusively on Netflix on Friday, December 1.
World premiering earlier this year at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Who We Become follows three young Filipino women grappling with an emerging global pandemic while forging unexpected connections with their families. Discovering themselves in the process. A self-documented time capsule for turbulent times, capturing the unbreakable bond between Filipino family and community, the film is produced by Cecilia R. Mejia (Lingua Franca), with co-producers Erwin Falcon and Samantha Renshi Skinner, as well as executive producer Theresa Navarro.
“ARRAY takes great pride in releasing this new work by a filmmaker who we have long admired,” said Array President Tilane Jones. “PJ Raval’s chronicling of both impact and access in the midst of two major global events is a necessary and noteworthy reflection on issues that are of vital importance.”
A queer, first generation Filipinx-American filmmaker, Raval’s work examines social justice issues through the voices of queer and marginalized subjects. Among his past features are Call Her Ganda, Before You Know It, and Trinidad. A member of both the PGA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, his body of work has been distributed or otherwise supported by such prestigious organizations as the Guggenheim Foundation, Bertha Foundation, Arcus Foundation, Sundance, Center for Asian-American Media, Tribeca Film Institute, Firelight Media, PBS, and the Ford Foundation, among others.
The acquisition was negotiated by Geoff Lee of Ramo Law on behalf of the film, and Gordon Bobb of Del Shaw Moonves on behalf of Array Releasing.