Home Away Productions and Cinematografo Originals have announced that their film, Yellow Rose, will be the Opening Night film for this year’s Asian American International Film Festival in New York on July 25th 2019.
Awarded the 2018 NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant, Yellow Rose is a timely story about a headstrong undocumented Filipino girl from a small Texas town who fights to pursue her dreams as a country music star while facing the threat of deportation.
Previously, Yellow Rose was the opening film for the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, running from May 2-10, 2019. The film has also received high praise and accolades, recently winning 3 grand jury awards at the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the 2019 CAAMFest Asian American Film Festival, and the 2019 Bentonville Film Festival.
“We’re excited for everyone to finally see the first images of Yellow Rose. Throughout our screenings, we’ve been touched by how the film resonates with so many different people no matter their background,” says director Diane Paragas. “We look forward to bringing our film to a wider audience in the months to come.”
The film stars Tony Award Nominee Eva Noblezada (Hadestown, Miss Saigon), Tony Award Winner and Disney Legend 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).
Speaking on the impact of the film, Paragas says “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… 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.”
Watch the official trailer now on YouTube:
The brand new official trailer gives audiences their first look at the story and features some original songs – “Square Peg” and “Quietly into the Night” – developed specifically for the film. The original songs in the feature were written and composed by Paragas, Watson, Noblezada, as well as other crew members – and are performed by the cast.
