The Debut is an independent feature-length film directed and co-written by first-time Filipino American filmmaker Gene Cajayon. It is one of the first feature films to take place within the Filipino American community, one of the largest Asian ethnic minorities in America. It is also the first Filipino American film to be released theatrically nationwide. The movie is widely considered to be an accurate snapshot of contemporary Filipino American life, and touches upon a wide variety of cultural themes including immigrant identity, acculturation and assimilation, family honor, and colonialism.[who?]

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Synopsis

Dante Basco (Biker Boyz , Hook ) plays Ben Mercado, a talented high school senior who enrolls in a prestigious arts institute in order to realize his dreams of becoming an artist. However, his plans come into conflict with those of his strict immigrant father Roland (Tirso Cruz III), a postal worker intent on seeing Ben become a doctor. Their long-simmering feud—for Ben, a struggle to be accepted by America and therefore reject his Filipino heritage; and for Roland, a quest to give his children a better life than he had—threatens to boil over and ruin the elaborate 18th birthday party of Ben’s sister Rose (Bernadette Balagtas). However, it is at the party where everything starts to change for Ben. The celebration emerges as a cultural stew of old world traditions and contemporary urban lifestyle, challenging Ben’s sense of misplaced identity, his choice of friends, even the way he regards his father. He also finds an unexpected confidante (and perhaps a love interest) in Rose’s best friend Annabelle (Joy Bisco). However, the evening’s challenges to Ben are just beginning to surface. The arrival of the Mercado family’s overbearing patriarch (Filipino movie legend Eddie Garcia) exacerbates tensions between father and son, while the temptation to ditch the relatives to be with his friends at a kegger across town tugs at Ben throughout the evening. Worse, his budding romance with Annabelle is complicated by the presence of hot-headed Augusto (Darion Basco), a former boyhood friend-turned gangsta wannabe—and Annabelle’s ex. In one night, Ben will face the true nature of his relationships with his family, his friends, and himself. Filipino culture became a big part of Ben. Dance,dance, disco, disco, and karaoke time!

Making of the film

{{#ifexist:Category:Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from April 2009 The Debut is based on a 10-minute short film Cajayon had made as his thesis project at Loyola Marymount University and incorporated themes from co-writer John Manal Castro's short film, Diary of a Gangsta Sucka. A labor of love, the full-length film took 8 years to produce/raise funding (from 1992 to 2000), and another 4 years to be released in theaters(2 years), DVD in 2003, and television.

Right after Gene finished shooting the first 10 mins of his thesis project, he sent the movie script to potential financial backers and was turned down. Gene and John went around Hollywood, "shopping" the idea of The Debut to all the major Hollywood studios(Disney, Warner Bros., MGM, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Universal). Most of the studio executives didn't know what a Filipino/Filipino American was and told him the film needed a white actor in a lead so the film can be marketable. Ironically, unbeknownest to Gene and John at the time, there is one Filipino-American executive at Columbia Pictures, Fritz Friedman, head of the home video division, that helped later on in casting.

Both Gene and John had a meeting with prominent Fil-Am producer Dean Devlin. One of them said to Dean, "Well, we wanted to meet you because you are the most successful Filipino [American] movie producer in history. Don't be so complimented! You are also the only one!" After their meeting, one of them said to Dean, "There are so few of you out there who have done well and you don't even talk about being Filipino. What are you ashamed of?" It was right then and there that Dean decided to give them his backing.

Initially, Dean stepped away from the project, but the film had gained legitimacy from Dean's association w/ the film, that the film was able to get a grant from NAATA(National Asian American Telecommunications Association) The grant, given to Gene, was one NAATA's biggest grant ever at the time and was awarded to a first time filmmaker. Gene then hooked up w/ Picture Bride producer Lisa Onedera and husband Greg Spence, and Celestial Pictures to produce the film. Gene and Lisa then went to the Philippines to cast the adult roles in the movie. The film receive somewhat mainstream media attention over there or as Gene would put it, "They were making it seem like we were these big shot Hollywood producers when in actuality, we were these young kids trying to make a movie." The casting director in the Philippines, Ernest Eschaler held casting sessions in Manila. The filmmakers were able to cast Tirso Cruz III as Ben's father, Gina Alejar as Ben's mother, Eddie Garcia as the lolo(grandfather), comedian Fe De Los Reyes as Tita Alice among the adult roles.

Back in the US, the filmmakers put out a casting call for the lead character Ben. Out of hundreds of Fil-Am males, Dante Basco of the movie Hook fame was chosen. Initially, Gene wanted Dante to play the antagonist Augusto but Dante decided to play Ben. The most difficult role to cast was finding the love interest of Ben. Most of the females that auditioned were, light skinned Filipinas or Half Filipino/European females or as Gene puts it, "Miss Saigon Girls."

Production started on October 21, 1997 at the Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary high school in Montebello, California. Reshoots were done a year after production finished. The Musical score and licensing of songs for the soundtrack was done in 1999.

The film had its World Premiere as the Opening Night Attraction of the 15th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival, the first time this prestigious festival awarded its Opening Night to a Filipino-themed production in May 2000.

Early Success

Prior to the film's theatrical release in 2001, the film was shown at various film festivals around the United States, including the Hawaii International Film Festival in November 2000. American film critic Roger Ebert, in attendance, was given a private screening of the film and gave his famous "thumbs up" approval. The Debut won the 2000 HIFF Audience Award for Best Feature Film, beating out heavily favored Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . The film was also awarded Best Feature Film honors by the 2000 San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Theatrical Release

The Debut ’s crowd-pleasing success on the film festival circuit inspired the filmmakers to launch an ambitious theatrical self-distribution campaign. For 2 years, The Debut ’s grass roots promotional team (consisting of Cajayon, co-writer John Castro, associate producer Patricio Ginelsa, and a full-time staff of 5) traveled to 15 major cities across the United States and promoted the film directly to Asian Pacific American and mainstream communities. Utilizing aggressive grass roots promotional tactics, targeted advertising and traditional media coverage, The Debut eventually grossed $1.8 million at the box office and won the 2001 Ammy Award for Best Independent Feature Film.

The movie's extraordinary success in theaters led to a domestic and international distribution deal with Sony Pictures. Over 12 years after Cajayon first started work on The Debut , the film has now been released in theaters, DVD, home video, and television in over 50 countries worldwide.

Reception

The film has been given positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes post a 74% "fresh" rating for the film. Film critics like Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times applauded the movie.

Some Filipino-Americans didn't like the take on the portrayal of the typical Filipino-American family, that it was deemed low class due to the father being a postal worker, having kids cursing, and the 18th birthday party to just an informal hall party.

The Actors

In addition to Dante Basco in the lead role of Ben Mercado, the film also features other members of the Basco family (Derek, Darion, Dion, Arianna), along with prominent Philippine actors Eddie Garcia, Tirso Cruz III, and Gina Alajar, as well as character actor Abe Pagtama. Joy Bisco of the hit ABC daytime soap operas Port Charles and Days of our Lives rounds out the cast as Annabelle, Ben’s love interest.