The Debut

The Debut (2000)

One night can change a lifetime.

Filipino-American high school student Ben works in a comic book shop to earn money to pay his way into Cal Arts. His father, a postman, is determined that his son, who has won a pre-med scholarship to UCLA, will become a doctor. The eighteenth birthday party of Ben's sister, Rose, sets off a comedic and touching series of events and family struggles that will in turn determine young Ben's future.

Date of release
2000-05-18
TMDB
6.0 / 10 (8)
Runtime
1h 28m
Genres
Drama
Director
Gene Cajayon

Casting

Interesting facts

The Debut is a 2000 coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Gene Cajayon in his directorial debut. Incorporated themes of Philippine culture, struggling with heritage identity and racism, the title of the film refers to the traditional coming-of-age ceremony accompanying a young woman's 18th birthday.

Production

The Debut is based on a ten-minute short film Cajayon had made as his thesis project at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, United States. He incorporated themes from co-writer John Manal Castro's short film, Diary of a Gangsta Sucka.

After shooting the first ten minutes of his thesis project, Cajayon sent the movie script to potential private financial backers but was turned down. Cajayon and Castro shopped the film to major Hollywood studios, but were rebuffed.

At one point, producer Dean Devlin, who is half Filipino, became associated with the project, but the film was still unable to secure funding. Eventually the film was able to garner a grant from the NAATA (National Asian American Telecommunications Association). Cajayon tapped Picture Bride producer Lisa Onodera, Greg Spence, and Celestial Pictures to produce the film.

Adult roles in the movie were cast in the Philippines, where casting director Ernest Eschaler held casting sessions in Manila. The filmmakers were able to cast Tirso Cruz III, Gina Alajar, Eddie Garcia, and comedian Fe de los Reyes.

Back in the US, the filmmakers put out a casting call for the lead character, eventually selecting Dante Basco, who played Rufio in the 1991 Steven Spielberg film Hook. Actress Joy Bisco was cast as the female lead. In addition to Dante Basco in the lead role, the film also features other members of the Basco family (Derek, Darion, Dion, and Arianna).

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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