The Debut

Having grown up in a Cuban-American family I was surprised at how similar the cultures represented in THE DEBUT are to my own. Although I am aware of both countries' Spanish colonial influence, I think many Americans from ethnic backgrounds will find the same connection to this film.

I universal story that does not shy away from its roots, THE DEBUT is actually a great film. The actors may not be the most experienced but they certainly come across more honest than most of the "polished" teen stars today.

One of the many striking performances comes out of left field from the villain tough boy with the gun (I don't know his name). When he starts getting slapped around by mama his expression is priceless and the scene strikes a cord into memories of the "tough guys" of my youth.

A memorable independent film with a heart as big as Asia. With a little sharper editing this could have been MY BIG FAT PHILLIPINO DEBUT.

Set aside your preconceptions and enjoy.

Positives - My brother is in this movie. He's the Filipino guy with the white shirt and cream vest, listening intently to the conspiracy theory of Ben's cousin out with the tricked out cars. Side note: He also owns the Black CRX with the Red "Rush Factor" sticker on the windshield. The other nice things is that they did an excellent job of capturing the "you know you're Filipino when . . ." attributes. The film is quite funny and quite accurate.

Negative - While I let this slide because its the first fil-am movie, I'd like to see less ethno-centric films. Films where nationality isn't the focal point. I have the same complaint about most African-american films. Like say they made "The Fast And the Furious" but all the main characters are Filipino. The story itself could happen to anyone, it just so happened to happen to a Filipino. The other part is that it is too general, but again, since its the first, I suppose it was necessary.

Overall - an 8. For all its flaws, they were necessary for this film because one of the main objectives was to show what the filipino culture was, both the good, the bad and the typical. And my brother was in it. hah

Having recently seen the `The Debut' at its premiere in Chicago, I just have to say, `Kudos' to the cast and crew of the movie. As a fellow `pinoy', I truly appreciated the efforts made by the film's writers to capture the essence of our dual culture. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that it was an independent film - not having to compromise the script or its chosen actors. A film about Filipinos, acted, directed, and produced by Filipinos. And the fact that it took almost two years to get this film shown here, is a testament in itself to the principals of the movie for persevering since Hollywood decided not to support it.

The story line is your basic coming of age film. However what makes it different is the depth at which the subtleties of Filipino-American life is presented and portrayed for the first time. So for non-Filipinos, it's good `primer' about your prevalent, yet up to now, silent neighbors. For Filipino-Americans, this is a film you should support and be proud of. The film is in English with periodic subtitles. It is not your typical big budget Hollywood film, yet it doesn't play like a low budget indie either. With its spirited acting and a notable (Fil-Am) soundtrack, this movie is polished gem. `Pinoys', welcome to our `debut'!

Gene Cajayon was a young Filipino-American college student when he came up with the idea for a Filipino-American film that would eventually become "The Debut." Raised in Orange County, California, and attending film school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Gene wanted to produce a film that allowed Filipino-Americans, both young and old, to see themselves portrayed on the silver screen. Enlisting the help of film student John Manal Castro, the two began work on the screenplay.

The journey to bring The Debut to the screen took eight long years. Gene relied on the support of grants and donations from the National Asian American Telecommunications Association and others. His producer, Lisa Onodera (of "Picture Bride" fame), helped with fundraising and making the film look more expensive than what it actually cost to make.

When all the funding was in place, Gene began assembling his cast and crew. He recruited veteran actors from the Philippines (e.g. Tirso Cruz III and Eddie Garcia) to play the parts of the parents and grandparents in the film. Gene cast young local Filipino-American actors to play the Filipino teenagers. The role of "Ben Mercado", a high school senior who struggles with his Filipino identity and family, is played by Dante Basco.

The Debut centers around Ben, a creative Filipino-American, high school boy who decides that he wants to go to art school to study animation. This collides with Ben's father's expectation that Ben go to medical school to become a doctor. The father, Roland Mercado, himself a postal worker, cannot understand his son's preoccupation with the arts and disinterest in Filipino culture.

On the night of Ben's sister's "debut" (or her 18th birthday party celebration), Ben's eyes open up as he learns from the other Filipino teens about what it means to be Filipino-American. He learns to his surprise as well, that his father used to play in a band back in the Philippines. Lastly, Ben meets a young Filipino girl that catches his eye and things start to heat up.

The Debut may indeed be the first Filipino-American movie ever made. Unfortunately, the film has not been picked up by a film distributor as of yet, so the producers have been showcasing the film around the country. It was screened in late October of 2000 at the Seattle Asian American Film Festival where it played to a large, enthusiastic crowd. It will also be screened in Hawaii in November 2000. One way or the other, Gene Cajayon will make sure that The Debut get seen around the country, either through a Hollywood distributor or through self-distribution. This is an exceptional film that proudly tells what's it like to be Filipino-American, and hopefully will pave the way for Filipino stories to make their way to the big screen.

Thank goodness for indie films! Are you are sick and tired of stupid formulaic, cookie-cutter hollywood movies? Then this is a film you want to watch. If you're Fil-Am or have friends who are, you'll going to enjoy this immensely. It captures so many little facets of the Fil-Am culture clash/identity crisis that so many of us go through. I've read & heard about the great amount of difficulty it took to make this film (my daughter attended a Union City, CA screening where the director was present) and I'm not at all surprised that Hollywood displayed no interest in producing or distributing a film about `minorities'-not enough white faces in the film to attract a mainstream audience, right?

Thank you, Gene Cajayon, for making this film, and I wish you the best in your career as a director. Robert Rodriguez and Spike Lee started out doing small films, so I really hope this catches the eye of the industry. Maybe a screening at the Sundance? Perhaps the best thing this film will do is kindle interest in young Fil-Ams about their heritage, culture and history.

Do did you know that:

• before the Vietnam War, there was the Philippine `insurrection' that claimed 100,000 Filipino lives

• the .45 was developed specifically to kill the Filipino `insurgent'

• the slang term `boonies' or `boondocks' used to describe a place located way out in the countryside originates from the Tagalog word `bundok', meaning `mountain'

Filipinos are bit more interwoven in the American social fabric than we realize, and with this film, we're a little bit less invisible.