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.

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.

Don't go into "The Debut" with the thought that it will be a thought-provoking film on Filipino life in the United States. Rather, go with the mentality that it's somewhat like "Save the Last Dance" with an Asian twist, and you won't be disappointed.

With "Save the Last Dance" the writers used high schoolers to slightly touch on issues of racism and fitting in, while at the same time incorporating dance `contests.' You'll find a little bit of this in some parts of The Debut, but with more of a Filipino flare. Overall I liked the film and looked at it as a teeny-bopper/pop film that slightly skimmed aspects of Filipino culture. But hopefully "The Debut" is only a prelude to a future flood of more mature, deep, and thoughtful Filipino American films.

I watched the film with my mom and my aunt, who are Filipinas. But before we entered the theatre, Auntie Melly commented, `It's about time they made more movies about Filipinos here in America.'

Co-writers John Castro and Gene Cajayon, also the director, give a glimpse into one Filipino family's life in the United States. "The Debut" takes place within a 24-hour period, revolving around Ben Mercado, played by Dante Basco, who was also nominated for a best actor Ammy award for this performance.

A talented sketch artist, Ben is torn between his artistic aspirations and his father's expectations that he become a doctor. Ben also struggles with his `other' life with his white friends, from whom he hides his Filipino heritage.

"The Debut" touches on the struggles that some young Filipino Americans face, including racism, fitting in, and how they may (or may not) live up to the expectations of their parents who are trying to find the `American dream' and pass it along to their children. But I left the film not knowing whether or not Ben's father truly approved of Ben's personal dream of becoming an artist rather than a doctor. And if his father does approve at the end of the film, I wasn't completely convinced.

Maybe we're not supposed to find out the answer in those 94 minutes. But the writers could have given more of a history into the father-son relationships throughout this film since that seemed to be one of the major conflicts of the film.

However, the first half of the film was energizing, with thoughtful and humorous dialogue, especially among the older relatives and Ben's white friends who slowly learned about Filipino culture.

I was especially impressed with Tirso Cruz III's performance as Ben's father, Roland, who is a complicated character - a tough and authoritative father with a soft-heart for his family. Cruz, who normally plays alongside Filipina singer/actress Nora Aunor, gave a passionate performance in "The Debut" and didn't hold anything back with this character.

Roland's relationship with his own father, Lolo Carlos, is even more complicated. Veteran actor Eddie Garcia plays Lolo Carlos. Despite Garcia's numerous awards (including five FAMAs, which are similar to the Oscar awards) I found his performance in The Debut forced and uncomfortable, unlike Cruz' performance. But I appreciated the filmmaker's decision to include such famous Filipino actors as Cruz and Garcia.

Even with a good beginning, the last half of the film disappointed me because of the slow and predictable ending, quickly losing energy and humor. Castro and Cajayon should have sat back in their chairs and thought about how they could develop more dialogue between the father and son, especially at the end, since I'm left wondering what happened between the two. And I embrace Cruz' performance, so seeing more of him, especially at the end would have strengthened the ending of this film.

I saw "The Debut" with a festival audience in Los Angeles that was mostly made up of Filipino-Americans. As a Caucasian, it was really touching to hear everyone laughing at the Tagalog jokes, and appreciative cooing and spontaneous applause happened when shots of Filipino comfort food were on the screen during a banquet scene! I was really moved, not only by the film's tender story of inter- and intra-cultural conflict, but by the realization that I'd never seen a film by or about Filipinos in America (or by or about any Filipino anywhere, come to think of it!). I hope this won't be the last! Special attention should also be paid to Conrad Cimarra, in the role of NESTOR. He brought welcome comic relief to the picture every time he appeared as the 'new arrival', fresh off the boat from Manila. Let Conrad's performance reinforce a lesson to all young actors: "There are no small parts. Only small actors." Conrad was HUGE in keeping the laughs coming and providing a much-needed balance to the film.

I went to see the Filipino-American "The Debut" because I make a point of seeing any ethnic coming-of-age movie, as I'm curious to see how they compare to the Jewish experience in movies, including last year's Asian Indian-American films "ABCD," and "American Chai," the Greek-American "Astoria," and one of my all time faves from a few years ago the Korean-Canadian "Double Happiness."

Like all movies in this genre (usually for semi-autobiographical reasons), the conflicted lead wants to be an artist rather than what his parents plan for him.

A particularly original angle is that the main character is younger than usual, a high school student way immersed in MTV culture, from comic books, heavy metal and hip hop language, and, of course, embarrassed by his family's cooking and other traditions. The titular event is his sister's coming-out party, which becomes an evening of ethnic discovery for him.

Unlike the older generation of immigrant vs young artist movies like "The Jazz Singer," the ethnic culture here is not all retrograde but is lovingly shown in class and generational diversity and warmth, while showing the conflicts the parents face as well. The political debate among the teens as to whether the lead is a "coconut" is a bit forced but interesting.

The variety of dance scenes leave the realism a bit as they are as choreographed as in the cheerleader satire "Bring It On" but they are fun. The naturalness of the actors in supporting roles makes up for some of the amateurishness in their performances, and the leads are charming.

I asked director Gene Cajayon, who was at my showing, how could it be that such a gathering would attract kids from across class lines. He explained that such Filipino family events bring together a large slice of the community as friends of the family, as here the dad works in the post office and the uncle is a doctor.

The closing credits are open-hearted-- amusingly and passionately thanking the myriad people with the explanations of what they did to help.