Educational Media Reviews Online

Not quite ten years after Matthew Shepard was murdered and only 100 miles from Laramie, Colorado – transgender teen Angie Zapata was brutally murdered in her Greely apartment on July 16, 2008 by a known assailant, Allen Andrade. Her murder trial became the first time that bias-motivated or hate crime legislation was used to prosecute in a transgender murder case in Colorado.

Director Alan Dominguez does good work in bringing the importance of Angie’s story to the fore within the larger context of hate crime legislation without losing focus on Angie’s personal story. Respectful of her family and Angie’s memory, Dominguez interlaces interviews with the Zapata family and friends as well as gay-rights activists and journalists. Ultimately, the story is told through a mix of photos, media coverage of the crime and court case, and these interviews.

While Dominguez sets forth a hefty amount of information on the crime and pieces of Angie’s life, the film is a little problematic. The visuals are often rough and unpolished and there is an overuse of weakly-placed photo arrays and long stretches of dramatic music that feel repetitive instead of serving to propel the story forward. Despite these issues, the film succeeds in bringing to light Angie’s personal narrative; the legislative importance of the trial, and its future resonance on transgender issues in Colorado and the U.S. House and Senate. Dominguez captures some of this with his inclusion of President Obama stating “…we must stand against crimes that are not only meant to break bones but to break spirits…”

This film would be of interest for people studying gender issues, women's studies, social issues, American government, and criminal justice. It may be used in advanced high school classrooms and higher to motivate discussions on these and similar topics.

Awards

• Best Documentary Award, Long Beach Q Film Festival