'Yellow Rose' makes history, audiences love this Filipino American movie

Yellow Rose is an American film. Who would have thought that a story about a Filipina American teenager and her ambition to become a country music star would combine into a single story; much less told in a movie that breaks all stereotypes to make film-making history?

Now, imagine trying to pitch that story to a Hollywood studio.

“I was constantly asking white, male, Hollywood for permission to make Yellow Rose, and getting, ‘no’.” director/writer/producer Diane Paragas, tells Golden Globes, the association of journalists writing about Hollywood for foreign media.

Texas-raised Paragas falls into one of the movie industry's smallest subsets of a subset – a woman of Asian descent directing a movie, writes "Golden Globes." In pitching her story, she went against all the stereotypes Hollywood has about Asians, not only in her film's un-Hollywood storyline, but also as an Asian American who has never made a dramatic feature before. Most of Paragas' previous filmmaking experience was in documentaries.

Paragas' movie broadens the perception of the undocumented immigrant. The story of Rose Garcia, as played by award-winning Broadway star Eva Noblezada, and her pursuit of her love of country music is a story about the American dream from the perspective of someone from the outside looking in.

Yellow Rose was released theatrically earlier this month under the aegis of a major studio, Sony, to rave reviews and the thunderous applause of the Filipino American community, who noted the historic aspect of the film -- the first Filipino American movie released by a major studio, which picked up the film after it picked up numerous awards through the film festival circuit.

The movie was released in 900 theaters across the country and still posted $150,000 domestically in its opening weekend -- not an overwhelming explosion, but not a box office bomb either. The limited response was no doubt influenced by the practice of stay-at-home social-distancing spurred by the coronavirus.

During its opening,Yellow Rose received an 85% in Rotten Tomatoes, a site that combines all the reviews of critics and the movie-going audience, a score that beat out the box office leader that weekend, The War With Grandpa, featuring big-name stars Robert De Niro and Uma Thurmond.

It is a shame that the film was released in the midst of a pandemic that is affecting every aspect of American life. If it was released a year earlier, we'd be hearing wider acclaim and audiences would be seeing this movie in droves .

Despite the coronavirus, audiences risked going out to the theaters. Most of them loved the movie if social media reaction can be used as a gauge.

Hopefully, an interview by the Golden Globes brings the movie to the attention of the foreign press and won't be forgotten when the Golden Globe nominations are announced later this year. Noblezada's first-film performance, which received almost universal praise, should be noteworthy and the original compositions should get some recognition by awards committees.

Youtube singing star AJ Rafael was effusive in praise: "I saw my mom, my sisters, my titas on that screen," wrote the Filipino American influencer. "Sitting in an American theater, watching this Filipino American movie, hearing a classic Filipino song sung as a lullaby, seeing those faces on screen -- it felt empowering. It was truly surreal."

Phil Yu, who writes one of the most widely read social media blogs, "Angry Asian Man," wrote in his praise: " I want to live in a world where movies that look and feel like this get made and celebrated every damn day."

Filipino American film 'Yellow Rose' gets date for it's theatrical release

Filipino American director Diane Paragas announced the theatrical release date of her film Yellow Rose.

After winning 13 awards in the film festival circuit spread over the past year, the feature film will open in theaters during Filipino American History Month on October 9, confirmed Paragas on social media.

Yellow Rose is the timely story of a Filipina American teen from a small Texas town who fights to pursue her dreams as a country music performer while facing the threat of deportation 

The film stars Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada (Hadestown, Miss Saigon) in her feature film debut, Tony Award Winner Lea Salonga (Once on this Island, Miss Saigon), Princess Punzalan (Mula Sa Puso), Dale Watson (Friday Night Lights), Gustavo Gomez (The Walking Dead), Libby Villari (Boyhood), and Liam Booth (Ghosts Never Sleep).

"It's no co-incidence that the film finally got financed in this era when anti-immigrant tensions are at an all time high. At the same time, there is a hunger for Asian-American stories like never before," said Paragas, after the success and acceptance of Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell and the award-winning performance of Darren Criss playing Filipino American psychopath  Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

"My hope is that Yellow Rose puts a human face on the plight of Dreamers, while entertaining the audience with original Americana music that they might not have listened to before," said Paragas, who immigrated with her family from the Philippines when she was four.

TGIF Feature: Sony acquires Filipino American movie 'Yellow Rose'

Eva Noblezada stars in 'Yellow Rose.'

The Filipino American film Yellow Rose will be distributed by Sony Pictures.

Since its debut at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival last Spring, the movie of a young undocumented Filipina American's quest to become a country singner, Yellow Rose has been gathering plaudits at film festivals from coast-to-coast.

With Sony's acquisition, the feature movie directed by Diane Paragas and starring Broadway star Eva Noblezada, will be able to have a wider theatrical release.

Yellow Rose, which also features Lea Salonga, is Paragas' feature debut and the first film role for Noblezada, who was recently nominated for an Tony for her role in Hadestown. 

“Yellow Rose has been a labor of passion for over 15 years and I’m thrilled that we can now share this very relevant story with the world,” says Paragas. “We have the added honor of representing the real experiences of Filipino Americans, Asian Americans, and all immigrants seeking a better life in America.”

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The ayes are bright for 'Yellow Rose' of Texas opening LA Asian Pacific Film Festival

Broadway's Eva Noblezada stars in 'Yeellow Rose.'

UPDATED March 31 to include Vincent Rodriguez information.

A Filipina American country singer? Really? The motion picture Yellow Rose will break more than a few stereotypes when it premieres on the opening night of the prestigious Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) this May 2.

As the opening night selection for the film festival, Yellow Rose will get a lot of attention from Hollywood, the movie industry's capitol.

Yellow Rose stars Tony Award-winning actress and Broadway icon Lea Salonga and Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada. It tells a tale of a young undocumented Filipina (Noblezada) who grows up in Texas with her dream to become a country music artist, complete with cowboy hat and guitar.

DIANE PARAGAS

Noblezada, 23, was just nominated for a 2019 Tony award for her perforance in the musical Hadestown. Her earlier Tony nomination was as Kim in Miss Saigon.

“I am grateful that I am making my feature film debut with Lea, who plays my Auntie,” she said. “Yellow Rose is the first-ever Filipina American film opening night presentation of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF). It addresses issues that people don’t really discuss that are specific to our current politics. I am grateful to play somebody that needs to be represented, a huge majority in the United States. And to represent our Pinoy community is special in itself.”
Director and producer Diane Paragas' first feature also includes Gustavo Gomez (The Walking Dead), Libby Villari (Boyhood) and Texas country music favorite, Dale Watson. With its unique take on East-meets-the-Wild-West, Yellow Rose challenges audiences and their presumptions of what it means to be an "American."

Paragas says that representation of Filipino Americans was important to her in order to tell this story. “As a Filipina American, I feel like we are mostly invisible as a subset of Asian Americans. Filipinos have played other Asians, but you rarely see a Filipino being a Filipino," said Paragas, who grew up in Austin, Texas, the setting for the movie.

That's true. With the recent exceptions of Nico Santos (Superstore), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place),  Vincent Rodriguez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend),Vanessa Hudgens (the short-lived Powerless) and award-winning Darren Criss (American Crime Story: The Assassination if Gianni Versace), Filipino Americans usually end playing other Asians or Latinos. 

(You would think Hawaii Five-0 or Magnum P.I. would have a Filipino character since Filipinos are the largest ethnic group in that state.}

The aforementioned shows are all on television. For motion pictures, unless the movie takes place during WWII, Filipinos are almost nonexistent..

The 35th rendition of the LAAPFF launches the celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year’s slate of over 100 films from both Asian Pacific American and Asian international artists. For over three decades, the Festival has presented close to 4,000 films by Asian Pacific American and Asian international talent. 

This year the Festival has over a dozen films from local filmmakers. The festival’s full line-up will be announced on Monday, April 1.

Besides Paragas as producer with Cecilia Mejia, Orian Williams, Rey Cuerdo and Co-Producer Jeremiah Abraham. Yellow Rose is supported by New York-based Asian CineVision, Cinematografo Originals (ABS-CBN Global), and was awarded the Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant last year by the New York Women in Film & Television.

Yellow Rose premieres at 7 pm on May 2 at the Aratani Theatre at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) in Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles. The LAAPFF is presented by the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center Visual Communications. The full LAAPFF lineup will be announced on April 1.

Both Eva Noblezada, left, and Tony award winning Lea Salonga starred on Broadway in Miss Saigon. 

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Miss Saigon veterans Noblesada and Salonga star in country music movie

The "big break" for both Eva Noblezada, left, and Lea Salonga was in playing Kim in 'Miss Saigon.'

THE SPARK that was lit with Crazy Rich Asians continues to send its embers throughout the movie industry as doors open for projects with Asian and Asian American protagonists or themes.

One of those CRA embers may help the production of "Yellow Rose," an independent feature starring Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada will headline alongside Tony winner and Miss Saigon veteran  Lea Salonga and country music star Dale Watson.

“With the increased demand for diverse Asian American stories in Hollywood, I can’t think of a better time to develop this film,” said director/producer Diane Paragas, “’Yellow Rose’ has been in development for over 15 years, and we’ve selected an incredibly talented cast to help tell this story.”

The project wrapped filming last month and is now in post-production.

The film follows the tale of Rose, a 17-year-old Filipino American teenager from Texas who dreams of becoming a country music icon. She has to fend for herself, however, when her mother is arrested by ICE, and must choose between following her dreams without her mother or leaving her passions behind. Tony winner Salonga is set to play Rose's aunt.

Yellow Rose has original music composed and performed by the cast and Paragas. The cast also includes Liam Booth, Gustavo Gomez, Libby Villari, and Princess Punzalan.

DIANE PARAGAS

The director Paragas was born in Minneapolis but returned to the Philippines when she was a year old. She came back to the US at age four and spent the rest of her youth in Lubbock, Texas, where she studied painting, music and film.

“I am a Filipina American like Rose. When I was 3 years old, my family fled Manila and martial law and ended up in Lubbock, Texas as it was the only place that would take us," writes Paragas. "I grew up in a fairly racist environment and by the time I was a teenager my only refuge was music. So I formed a punk rock band.

"An actor friend of mine suggested I write a script about my upbringing, but when I first conceived of the script I thought that it would be more compelling if the lead character loved everything about Texas including and most importantly the music. It would be the ultimate unrequited love: to love a place so much that doesn’t love you back. And with the crackdown of immigration in her town, Rose’s very citizenship is questioned as well.”

Noblezada, 22, was born in San Diego but moved to North Carolina at an early age. After impressing London audiences for her portrayal of Kim in the London production of Miss Saigon and as Epinomy in Les Misérables, she made her Broadway debut in 2017 reprising her role as Kim, for which she received her Tony nomination.

It is not the first time that Noblezada and Salonga worked togehter. The two Filipinas held a joint concert at Carnegie Hall in 2016 celebrating the music of Broadway.

Paragas, while known for her commercial work, has done well-received documentaries including Brooklyn Boheme¸ a feature-length documentary about the African American arts movement for Showtime that she made in tandem with writer and critic Nelson George featuring Spike Lee, Chris Rock and Rosie Perez to name a few.

She is also in production for a feature documentary about an wrongfully convicted illegal immigrant called The Three Lives of David Wong. 

“To me, commercials, documentaries and narrative films are all about storytelling, ” she says. “I don’t distinguish between them. Whether I’m working with a big crew, a small crew or by myself, it’s all storytelling.”

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