Movies - The Debut

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	Movies - The Debut

The Debut is an independent Filipino-American movie directed and written by first time director/cowriter Gene Cajayon.

Begun by Cajayon during his studies at Loyola Marymount University, the film took nearly 5 years to create, another 4 years to be released in theaters (2001), and another 2 years to be released on home video and DVD (2003).

The Debut is based on a short film Cajayon had made as his thesis project. This short film, which is included on some DVD releases, was taken from the first 10 minutes of the eventual script for The Debut.

Early Success

Prior to the film's release in 2001, the film was shown at various film festivals around the United States, including the Hawaii International Film Festival in November 2000. Critic Roger Ebert, in attendance, was given a private screening of the film and gave his famous "thumbs up" approval. The Debut won for audience award for Best Feature Film, beating out Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

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, Ariana), along with prominent Philippine actors Eddie Garcia, Tirso Cruz III, and Gina Alajar, as well as character actor Abe Pagtama. The Debut is said to be the first American movie to feature actors who are Filipino descent playing Filipinos.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Debut ]

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