I decided that the best way to gauge reactions to the film was to gather feedback from none other than my own family. "Easter Sunday" magnifies Filipino traditions, the sacredness of the family and the Catholicism that is as much a part of our identity as eating with a spoon and fork. We are not bound by characters that, depending on our facial features, could be type-cast as “generalized” Hispanics or Asians. Shouldn’t we collectively, whether Fil-Ams (Filipino Americans) or Filipinos in general, rejoice that we have finally “made it” as the main protagonists of a major Hollywood movie? For the first time, we are not merely playing supporting roles. Would you look at that! A movie about upholding Filipino traditions, magnifying the sacredness of family, highlighting the Catholicism that is as much a part of our identity as eating with a spoon and fork instead of a knife and fork. The movie centers around a gathering of his dysfunctional Filipino-American family on the Super Bowl Sunday of our cultural tradition-Easter Sunday. “Easter Sunday” is an American comedy starring Joseph Glenn Herbert Sr., also known as the comedian Jo Koy, playing Joe Valencia, a struggling actor, comedian and single father. Even with the release of the “Easter Sunday” movie starring a full-fledged cast of Filipinos, it seems that no matter how much pride goes behind showcasing our Filipino culture, the American public, and especially the Hollywood executives funding films, are still trying to fully understand what it means to be Filipino. Not much has changed much in mainstream Hollywood since that time. The American public, and Hollywood executives, are still trying to fully understand what it means to be Filipino. Instead, a movie directed by, produced by and starring Filipinos had to organize a grassroots effort in order to be self-distributed. It was never picked up by a major distribution company. You have probably never heard of that movie, and understandably so. The title refers to a cultural milestone in a young Filipina’s life-turning 18, a rite-of-passage celebration like a Sweet 16 or a quinceañera. I proudly wore around school the promotional merchandise, a skin-tight black t-shirt that had the words, “The Debut” scribbled in white on the front. The last time I can recall getting this excited about seeing Filipinos on the big screen, I was a self-proclaimed teenybopper in the early 2000’s and the coming-of-age film “The Debut” was screened across the United States.
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