Yellow Rose (2019 film)

Yellow Rose is a 2019 musical drama film co-written and directed by Diane Paragas. An international co-production 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. The plot follows Rose, a Filipina undocumented immigrant, who dreams of leaving her small town in Texas to pursue her country music dreams. Her plan is put on hold when her mother is taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Rose is forced to flee to Austin, Texas.^[3]

Yellow Rose
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Diane Paragas
Written by	Diane Paragas Annie Howell Celena Cipriaso
Produced by	Cecilia R. Mejia Rey Cuerdo Diane Paragas Orian Williams Jeremiah Abraham
Starring	Eva Noblezada Dale Watson Princess Punzalan Lea Salonga
Cinematography	August Thurmer
Edited by	Iron Reiter Taylor Levy
Music by	Christopher Hoyt Knight
Production companies	Stage 6 Films ABS-CBN Global Cinematografo Originals Home Away Productions Civilian Studios
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing (United States) Star Cinema (Philippines)
Release dates	May 2, 2019 (2019-05-02) (Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival) October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) (United States)
Running time	94 minutes[1]
Countries	United States Philippines
Languages	English Filipino
Box office	$367,849[2]

The film premiered at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 2, 2019 and received positive reviews. Stage 6 Films acquired the film and released it on October 9, 2020.^[4]

Plot

Cast

• Eva Noblezada as Rose Garcia
• Lea Salonga as Gail Garcia
• Dale Watson as himself
• Princess Punzalan as Priscilla Garcia
• Gustavo Gomez as Jose
• Libby Villari as Jolene
• Liam Booth as Elliot Blatnik

Production

In May 2019, it was announced that the film would premiere at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (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, Lea Salonga, and Dale Watson.^[5]

Principal photography began in Austin, Texas and Manila, Philippines 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.^[6][7]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Square Peg"	Dale Watson, Thia Megia, Diane Paragas	Eva Noblezada	4:05
2.	"Life Out on the Road"	Watson	Watson	2:00
3.	"Dahil Sa Iyo"	Mike Velarde, Jr.	Lea Salonga	2:01
4.	"Circumstance"	Watson	Noblezada; Watson	1:21
5.	"Quietly Into the Night"	Paragas	Noblezada; Watson	1:59
6.	"I Ain't Going Down"	Watson	Noblezada; Watson	2:13
7.	"Yellow Rose"	Watson	Watson	1:42
8.	"Are You Priscilla Garcia"		Knight	2:16
9.	"Running Through Hayfield"		Knight	2:26
10.	"We Could Have Used Your Help"		Knight	1:19
11.	"N35"		Knight	1:04
12.	"Leaving Tita Gail's"		Knight	1:37
13.	"Rose and Elliot"		Knight	1:00
14.	"Rose Leaves Broken Spoke"		Knight	1:02
15.	"They Take Everything Away"		Knight	1:16
16.	"This is Home For Me"		Knight	2:28
17.	"Yellow Rose (Instrumental)"	Watson	Watson	1:43
Total length:				32:00

All tracks are written by Christopher Hoyt Knight except where noted.

Release

Yellow Rose premiered at the LAAPFF 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.^[8] Though the film's theatrical release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.^[9]

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.^[10]

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 55 reviews, with an average of 7.2/10. 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."^[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[12] 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."^[13]

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" ^[14]

New York Times said Paragas "spins a story that is both politically timely and personal...the music has the greatest staying power..."^[15]

Accolades

Year	Association	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2019	Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival	Best Narrative Feature	Yellow Rose	Won
		Best Breakthrough Performance	Eva Noblezada	Won
	Bentonville Film Festival	Best Competition Narrative	Yellow Rose	Won
	Asian American International Film Festival	Best Narrative Feature		Won
	CAAMFest	Best Narrative		Won
	Urbanworld Film Festival	Best Film		Won
		Best Narrative Feature		Won
	Austin Film Festival	Marquee Feature		Nominated
	Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival	Best Narrative Feature Film		Won
	San Diego Asian Film Festival	Audience Award		Won
	Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival	Menkes Audience Choice Award		Won
		Fasken Martineau Best Feature Film		Won
	Vancouver Asian Film Festival	Best Overall Feature		Won
	Hawaii International Film Festival	Best Narrative Feature		Won
2021	Houston Film Critics Society Awards	Texas Independent Film Award		Won
2021	Guild of Music Supervisors Awards	Best Music Supervision for Films Budgeted Under $5 Million		Nominated