The Debut (2000)
Overview
Filipino-American high school student Ben (Dante Basco) 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. This fresh independent production from Gene Cajayon presents a lighthearted and warm coming-of-age tale filtered through the eyes of an American subculture rarely seen on film.
Production Companies
Additional Info
| Budget | $1,000,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $0.00 |
| Original Language | en |
| Popularity | 1.113 |
Directed By
Gene Cajayon
Crew
Gene Cajayon
Gene Cajayon
John Manal Castro
Michael Rizzo
Kenn Kashima
Curtis Choy
Wendall J. Yuponce
Hisham Abed
TOP CAST
Dante Basco
Ben Mercado
Jayson Schaal
Doug
Brian Card
Dave
Mindy Spence
Jennifer
Nicole Hawkyard
Susie
Brandon Martinez
Rick
Ernie Zarate
Tito Lenny
Gina Alajar
Gina Mercado
Bernadette Balagtas
Rose Mercado
Derek Basco
Edwin Mercado
Joy Bisco
Annabelle Manalo
Rawlins Apilado
Jun
Tirso Cruz III
Roland Mercado
Darion Basco
Augusto
Dion Basco
Rommel
Eddie Garcia
Lolo Carlos
Similar Movies
Deadly Twins
The Landers sister star as twin sisters (obviously) in this oddly disturbing film. The girls, who are budding performers, are booked for a club date, which quickly turns into a nightmare. Brutally gang raped, they get no satisfaction from the police, so they carry out their own brand of justice.
Human Nature
Obsessive scientist Nathan and his lover, the naturalist Lila, discover Puff: a man born and raised in the wild. As Nathan trains the wild man in the civilized ways of the world, Lila fights to preserve the man’s natural state. In the power struggle that ensues, an unusual love triangle emerges.
Once Were Warriors
A drama about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.
Ankhon Dekhi
Bauji resists his daughter's request to let her marry the man she loves as the villagers incessantly shame him. However, his opinion changes after he meets him and he decides to change his viewpoint.
Lisbon Story
Lisbon Story is Wim Wenders' homage to Lisbon and films. A sound engineer obtains a mysterious postcard from a friend who at the moment is filming a film in Lisbon. He sets out across Europe to find him and help him.
Okafor's Law
A slick serial seducer bets his friends that he can bed three old flames in six weeks, in this risqué comedy from the director of the smash hit Wives on Strike.
Transamerica
A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.
The Outsider
Revolves around a British military contractor Lex Walker who is told his daughter has died. When he arrives in Los Angeles and discovers the body is not hers, he begins an investigation.
Barren Lives
In vivid images, the documentary-like story of a drover and his family in the northern badlands of Brazil during the drought. A family in the search of new hope and destiny.
Christmas Mountain
A cowboy comes to a town at Christmas time. He eats at a cafe but was unable to pay for his meal, so the owner throws him in jail. The town wants to alleviate their guilt over a Mexican family, who has pregnant woman with them, who lives on top of a mountain called Christmas mountain. They bail out the cowboy and tells to bring some old clothes and food to them. While there the young boy of the family feels sorry for him and prays that god will send him some help. It comes in the form of an old friend of his who died years ago. He tells him that he is not exactly living a proper life but he has a chance to turn things around, first by telling the townsfolk that their so called charity towards the Mexicans is not enough.
Perception
Perception explores the breach of experience that divides us all by glancing into the lives of three individuals: Clarissa, a young idealistic photographer who chooses to live as a homeless person on the streets of New York, supporting herself meal by meal by selling her photography from a blanket in Central Park; Ralph, a successful real estate salesman who struggles for balance against the cut-throat nature of his business; and Tobias, a perpetual student who gets fired a lot. Perception journeys through the same season of time from each character's point of view, detailing how presumption and mistaken intention leads to great misunderstanding. A moment, revisited from another point of view, takes new dimension--and the line between protagonist and antagonist blurs.
Beyond Love
Anna & Marina are in love and decide they want a baby. Stefano & Tony are their best friends. When the ladies have an argument over who will carry the baby, the guys are caught in the middle. Stefano suggests that Marina sleep with a man, but she angrily dismisses it and disappears. Stefano then goes to extreme measures to raise the money for artificial insemination in hopes of repairing the friendship. The arguments and quarrels lead them to the hospital, where they realize their own mistakes and face the consequences of their behavior.
MURDER and murder
Mildred and Doris are two middle-aged white women, from very different backgrounds, who become lovers and set up house together. Film explores the pleasures and uncertainties of later-life emotional attachment and lesbian identity in a culture that glorifies youth and heterosexual romance.
Forced Alliance
Four young friends, en route to the coast for a weekend of surfing and fun are forced to seek help from a strange recluse when their car breaks down. Jack Rattigan is a strange man living in an even stranger house, a decaying relic of a bygone age. Is Rattigan insane? Or are his words and acts and expression of a mind tortured by mortal anguish? What is Rattigans secret? And what is the source of his power to mesmerise?
The Final Alliance
A drifter and his pet puma stand up against a motorcycle gang in a small American town.
Wish I Was Here
Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband, is 35 years old and still trying to find a purpose for his life. He and his wife are barely getting by financially and Aidan passes his time by fantasizing about being the great futuristic Space-Knight he'd always dreamed he'd be as a little kid. When his ailing father can no longer afford to pay for private school for his two kids and the only available public school is on its last legs, Aidan reluctantly agrees to attempt to home-school them. Through teaching them about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn't find.
The Whirl
Three childhood friends from Belgrade, Serbia, whose destinies change as they become adults during the wartime 1990s.
Interim
A young man meets a young woman under a bridge by a railroad. They shelter from the rain and exchange a kiss. The man grows sullen and leaves. The film starts with him and ends with her. It’s a straightforward anecdote told in traditional ways, the likes of which he’d forsake forever; that is, it uses actors, a soundtrack with music and post-dubbed sound effects, a photographer who frames everything professionally and a coherent edited narrative.
Los bastardos
A 24 hour period in the lives of Fausto and Jesus, two undocumented Mexican day-laborers in L.A. Each day another task, each day the same pressure to find money. They go about their daily routine, standing on the corner at the Home Improvement Store waiting for work to come. Today, the job they are given is well paid compared to their poor usual wages.
Dear Frankie
Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day...