Gene Cajayon Movies
- 2007
A ten year-old boy living in the impoverished, crime-riddled, Manila slum of Tondo falls in with a brutal street gang mistakenly accused of a high profile killing in first-time feature filmmaker Jim Libiran's unforgiving urban drama. Ebet (Kal Eigger Balingit) may only be ten, but he's already seen enough violence to last two lifetimes. An honorary member of the Thugz Angels street gang, Ebet watches as his friends pass their time by doing drugs and abusing new members. Later, when the Thugz Angels are fingered for the murder of rival gang leader Makoy (O.G. Sacred), a street war the likes of which even these mean street have never seen erupts. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Karl Eigger Balingit, O.G. Sacred, (more)
- 2006
Filmmaker Jeff Adachi turns his critical lens on Hollywood in order to highlight the dangerous but seldom explored reality of cinematic prejudice. With fifty film clips spanning a century on the silver screen, Adachi chronicles the experiences of Asian men in American cinema. From ethnic stereotypes to the limited roles available to talented Asian actors, this look at a highly visible form of racism reveals just how much damage can be done by the image making machine in Hollywood. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Ben Mercado (Dante Basco) is an 18-year-old from a Filipino-American family who is soon to graduate from high school and plans to go to art school -- though he's trying to keep this a secret from his father Roland (Tirso Cruz III), who is determined his son will become a doctor. Right now, most of the Mercado family is preoccupied with an elaborate coming-out party being thrown for Ben's sister Rose (Bernadette Balagtas), which seems to have less to do with Rose and more with Roland's desire to impress his father Lolo (Eddie Garcia). Ben isn't too thrilled about having to attend, so he invites his best friends Rick (Brandon Martin) and Doug (Jason Schaal) to fight off monotony until they can slip out unnoticed. To their surprise, Rick and Doug find themselves having a great time getting a glimpse of Filipino culture, and Ben (who is enjoying himself more than he lets on) meets Annabelle (Gina Alajar), a pretty girl who is friends with Rose. However, Ben soon discovers that Annabelle recently parted ways with her boyfriend Augusto (Darion Basco), and Augusto is still very, very jealous -- and willing to start a fight with anyone who makes a move toward "his girl." The Debut was, appropriately, the debut feature for writer and director Gene Cajayon and was enthusiastically received at the 2001 San Francisco Asian-American Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dante Basco, Eddie Garcia, (more)
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