LOS ANGELES — The 81st Annual Academy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre surprised us in many ways. One of them is the presence of 34-year-old cinematographer, PJ Raval. PJ attended his first Oscar awards ceremony and could not contain his excitement when we met him at a pre-Oscar party hosted by Dreamworks.

“I can’t wait to walk the red carpet,” he said. “I already bought a tuxedo and a new pair of shoes,” he added. The young and talented Filipino-American filmmaker, shot the acclaimed “Trouble the Water,” which was an Oscar nominee for the Best Documentary Feature in last Sunday’s Academy Awards.

Although it lost to “Man on Wire,” PJ feels that just being nominated and going to the Oscars is already a dream come true for him. He said, “I know it sounds cliché but it truly is an honor just to be nominated. To be recognized for doing something I love, for a project I am so proud of and really believe in is an achievement on its own. This experience has been completely amazing and unexpected.”

“Trouble the Water,” a powerful firsthand account of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath as seen through the eyes of a couple, won the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary and was ranked as one of the 10 best films of 2008 by such critics as the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert, The New Yorker’s David Denby and Entertainment Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbaum.

PJ, together with the documentary’s co-directors, Carl Deal and Tia Lessin followed Kimberly and Scott Roberts for almost a year and a half in the devastating aftermath of Katrina. Actor Danny Glover co-produced the documentary.

PJ, who was born in New Jersey and raised in California, is now based in Austin, Texas. He earned the American Society of Cinematographers Charles B. Lang Jr. Heritage Award and the Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography. He shot director Kyle Henry’s “Room,” which premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight in the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

We also look forward to PJ’s feature documentary that he directed, “Trinidad,” which is about a group of transgender women in a small Colorado town that has been named as the sex change capital of the world. He also recently shot a punk rock show for a video art installation.

On filming “Trouble the Water,” PJ said, “I think we all realized it wasn’t just about Kim and Scott’s experiences during the hurricane, but also their struggles during their entire lives.”

On filming “Trinidad,” he revealed, “The stories the transgender women have shared with me have changed my life. I respect each one of them greatly and am continually inspired by their honesty and bravery to express who they are.”

The award-winning filmmaker believes that “film is one of the most powerful storytellers. It can make one feel another’s struggle or allow one to witness a life very different from his own.”

For his next project, PJ is looking forward to filming a narrative script about a teen’s coming of age, his “boy crush” and his relationship with his young single mother.

PJ admitted that if he was given a choice to be a director or a filmmaker, he would choose both. “I just want to remain creative,” he said.

Back to the awards show and its many innovations and surprises… First, the awarding of the major awards by the former winners to the nominees (great idea especially when you see the nominees really touched by the compliments of the former winners but doesn’t this remind you of “American Idol” especially when they say “Great job!” or “Fine work!”)

Second, Hugh Jackman doing a lap dance on Best Actor nominee Frank Langella and singing about “pubic hair” (I think Oscar nominee Marissa Tomei of “The Wrestler” felt insecure after seeing Hugh do that lap dance; I wonder if Mickey Rourke also asked Hugh to do a lap dance for him) Third, Sophia Loren or an impersonator of Sophia Loren (whatever she did to her face makes Michael Jackson look tame)

Fourth, Ben Stiller aka Joaquin Phoenix (Ben’s impersonation of Joaquin Phoenix when the latter was interviewed at the David Letterman’s Late Night Show was so hilarious we believe somebody should give Ben an Oscar that night!)

Fifth, Miley Cyrus and her “twin” Sarah Jessica Parker (both of them were wearing almost identical “princess” gowns we wonder if there was a sale or something at the Disney Store)
Sixth, Anne Hathaway’s singing with Hugh Jackman (we did not know the lovely and talented Anne Hathaway, also an Oscar nominee, could sing; Anne can seriously consider a singing career and give Miley Cyrus a run for her money)

Seventh, Sean Penn and his “no interview” attitude (what’s up with Sean Penn declining to talk to the press backstage after winning because “My voice is a little shaky. So, no.”)

Eighth, the little kids of the Best Picture winner, “Slumdog Millionaire” (the children, who are all non-actors were invited to attend the awards ceremony and they were so cute on the red carpet singing and dancing the award-winning song, “Jai-Ho,” to most of their interviewers)

Ninth, Philippe Petit, the inspiration for the award-winning documentary “Man on Wire,” when he juggled the Oscar statue on his chin (after making a coin disappear and saying “I thank the academy for believing in magic,” he precariously juggled the Oscar statue on his chin—thank God he did not drop it!)

And lastly, James Franco and Seth Rogen’s spoof on the Oscar-nominated movies (we especially loved it when they were showing the scene where “Milk” stars James and Sean Penn were making out outside their camera store and suddenly, we see Seth Rogen moving far away from James in their couch).
E-mail the writer at jrnepales_624@yahoo.com.