The Debut is a 2000 American independent drama film directed and co-written by first-time Filipino American filmmaker Gene Cajayon. It is the first Filipino American film to be released theatrically nationwide, starting in March 2001 in the San Francisco Bay Area and ending in November 2002 in New York City.
It is also one of the first feature films to take place within the Filipino American community, one of the largest Asian ethnic minorities in America. The title of the film refers to the traditional coming-of-age ceremony accompanying a young woman’s 18th birthday in Filipino culture.
