Friends of murder victim January Marie Lapuz remember her in a new documentary film that sheds light on the life of the Surrey-raised woman.
The 25-minute 鈥淢y Name Was January鈥� movie eulogizes Lapuz, who was stabbed to death at her home in New Westminster in September of 2012. She was 26.
鈥淲hen a trans sister, January Marie Lapuz, is brutally murdered in her own home, a community reacts and her friends and other trans women of colour come to share and voice their issues, concerns, and challenges,鈥� reads the film synopsis.
鈥淛anuary was seen as a bright light in the lives of many. This is a story of January, a friend, a daughter, a person. This film will not only bring justice to January, but to all women who have lost their lives. January had a beautiful soul, and now part of her soul rests in each and every one of us.鈥�
Lapuz鈥檚 killer pleaded guilty to manslaughter and in 2014 was sentenced to eight years in prison.
鈥� READ MORE: , from January 2018.
Alex Sangha, who produced the short documentary, said the project was created to pay tribute to his departed friend and ally at the , a non-profit society for LGBTQ South Asians and supporters.
The film is directed by local journalists Elina Gress and Lenee Son, and produced by Sher Vancouver.
鈥� READ MORE: , from March 2018.
Many people close to Lapuz, including her mother, Betty, were interviewed for the film.
鈥淚 think she had a lot of issues as a transgendered woman going through transition, living in poverty, being involved in the sex trade,鈥� Sangha says in the film. 鈥淪he was adopted, she faced a lot of rejection in society, a lot of people didn鈥檛 accept her. They thought she was different.鈥�
Lapuz was 鈥渢he life of our group, the social glue,鈥� Sangha says.
鈥淪he was like the mother of our group. Me and my best friend Ash, you know, whenever you get two gay queens trying to run a social organization, there鈥檚 going to be drama, and January was there to make sure everything went smoothly. She was a great singer, a great dancer, people loved her. She had a lot of friends, she was so funny, she was so hilarious. She would approach people on the street and say, 鈥楬i, my name is January. I know it鈥檚 a cold month but I make it hot.鈥欌��
The film has been submitted to 50 film festivals far and wide, and the first to pick it up is the , next February.
鈥淩ight now we鈥檙e showing the film privately to people for endorsements and getting some feedback,鈥� Sangha told the Now-Leader.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 really do a public screening locally until after festivals have their run,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e did a rough-cut screening of it at City Centre Library back in 2016, and got feedback from that. Now it鈥檚 finished.鈥�
The film is a 鈥渓ocal, grassroots, community project shot entirely in Metro Vancouver,鈥� Sangha explained.
鈥淓lina and Lenee both studied Journalism at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Lenee is also from Surrey and Elina from Aldergrove,鈥� he noted. 鈥淭he producers from Sher Vancouver (Sangha and Ash Brar) are also from Surrey.鈥� Lapuz gradated from LA Matheson Secondary in Surrey, he said.
Sponsors of the film helped pay for the production costs of the film. They include BC Civil Liberties Association, BC Government and Service Employees鈥� Union (BCGEU), City of New Westminster, City of Surrey, Health Sciences Association of British Columbia (HSA), Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group (KPIRG), MoveUP, No Fear Counselling, Style Cuts by Narcy, UNIFOR Local 464 and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1518.
The film website is .
