The Debut
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| The Debut | |
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 DVD cover for the film |
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| Directed by | Gene Cajayon |
| Produced by | Lisa Onodera |
| Written by | Gene Cajayon, John Manal Castro |
| Starring | Dante Basco Tirso Cruz III Eddie Garcia Darion Basco Dion Basco Derek Basco Gina Alajar Bernadette Balagtas Joy Bisco |
| Music by | Wendell Yuponce |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Language | English, Tagalog/Filipino |
| Budget | $1,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
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 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 (from 1992 to 2000), and another 4 years to be released in theaters, DVD, and television.
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.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] 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. 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. 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 opera Port Charles rounds out the cast as Annabelle, Ben’s love interest.
