''Yellow Rose'' is a 2019

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

co-written and directed by Diane Paragas. An

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint vent ...

film among the Philippines and United States, it is produced by Cecilia R. Mejia, Diane Paragas, Rey Cuerdo, Orian Williams, and Jeremiah Abraham. The film stars Eva Noblezada, Dale Watson, Princess Punzalan, and

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, ( ; born February 22, 1971) is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a L ...

. The plot follows Rose, a

Filipina Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino, English, or other Philippine languages. Despite formerly being subject to ...

undocumented immigrant, who dreams of leaving her small town in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

to pursue her country music dreams. Her plan is put on hold when her mother is taken by

Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from transnational crime and ille ...

and Rose is forced to flee to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. The film premiered at the

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...

on May 2, 2019 and received positive reviews.

Stage 6 Films Stage 6 Films, Inc. is an American film division of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions that acquires and produces feature films to be released either theatrically, on demand, or through streaming services. Once a film is finished, Sony Picture ...

acquired the film and released it on October 9, 2020.

Plot

Cast

* Eva Noblezada as Rose Garcia *

as Gail Garcia * Dale Watson as himself * Princess Punzalan as Priscilla Garcia * Gustavo Gomez as Jose *

Libby Villari Margaret Elizabeth "Libby" Villari (née Webb; born November 17, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring role as Mayor Lucy Rodell on '' Friday Night Lights''. Her film appearances include '' Boyhood'', '' Infamous'', '' ...

as Jolene * Liam Booth as Elliot Blatnik

Production

In May 2019, it was announced that the film would premiere at the

(LAAPFF) on May 2, 2019. Director and screenplay writer Diane Paragas told reporters that the film has been in the works since 2004. It was also announced that Paragas would sing on the soundtrack as well as Eva Noblezada,

, and Dale Watson.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began in

and

Manila, Philippines Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is ...

on August 17, 2018. Filming wrapped in January 2019.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was released by Sony Music Masterworks on October 9, 2020.

Release

''Yellow Rose'' premiered at the

LAAPFF The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Ame ...

on May 2, 2019. It was screened at several other film festivals internationally. It won thirteen film festival awards, particularly praising Paragas' directing and Noblezada and Salonga's performances. Though the film's theatrical release was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, it was released on October 9, 2020. The film is one of the first Filipino-American films to be released by a major Hollywood studio for theatrical release.

Reception

Box office

''Yellow Rose'' opened in 9th place at the US box office, taking in $150,000 in 900 theaters over its opening weekend.

Critical reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average of . The site's critical consensus reads, "A coming-of-age story with a timely twist, ''Yellow Rose'' offers a fresh -- and sweetly rewarding -- perspective on the immigrant experience." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Writing for The Philippine Reporter, Ysh Cabana wrote "''Yellow Rose'' is the Filipino-American filmmaker’s response to the harsh reality of 21st Century America’s anti-immigrant policies." A film critic for Minorities Report Film wrote "Yellow Rose is a much needed film that reminds everyone that we are surrounded by people that might be living in sorrow and pain" New York Times said Paragas "spins a story that is both politically timely and personal...the music has the greatest staying power..."

Accolades

References

External links

Official site
* {{Authority control 2019 films 2019 drama films 2010s musical drama films 2010s teen drama films American musical drama films American teen drama films Country music films Films about Filipino Americans Films about Filipino families Films about illegal immigration to the United States Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films set in Austin, Texas Films shot in Austin, Texas Films set in Texas Films shot in Manila Stage 6 Films films American independent films 2019 independent films 2010s American films 2019 musical films