The Debut (2000)

Directed by

Gene Cajayon

Genre

teen film, coming-of-age film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 28m

Rated

R

Rating

6.0 of 10 from 8 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A Filipino American teenager struggles to balance his family's traditional expectations with his own dreams. He wants to pursue art but his father wants him to become a doctor. The story centers on his sister's 18th birthday celebration, where cultural tensions come to a head.

lightheartedheartfeltnostalgicwarmdramaticgroundedoptimisticfamily-centric

What happens

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. A co-production of United States and Philippines, The Debut is the first film for an independent Hollywood film production (also known as Indiewood) to be written or directed by a Filipino-American and to take place or depicted within the Filipino-American community, and the first film to be produced with a Filipino film production GMA Films. The film grossed $1.745 million in limited theatrical release in the United States. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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