By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent
The first trailer has been released for the three-time award winning movie Yellow Rose starring Tony Nominee Eva Noblezada and Tony Award Winner Lea Salonga.
The release of the trailer comes ahead of the film’s opening of the New York Asian American International Film Festival on July 25.
Yellow Rose has been a runaway hit on the film festival circuit, having won three Grand Jury Awards from Caamfest 2019 in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and the 2019 Bentonville Film Festival.
“It’s a deeply personal story to me,” said director Diane Paragas to AsAmNews. “I grew up in a small town Texas and I played music but not country music. We shot in Austin which is where I went to college. The film is so close to my heart.
In the film, Noblezada plays a girl from a small Texas town who faces the threat of deportation while pursuing her country music dreams. Salonga plays her wealthy aunt and country music star Dale Watson plays himself.
“I can see how much it touches people in different ways but always very deeply. We hope to bring this to widest audience possible and we need everyone’s help to spread the word,” said Paragas.
It took Paragas 15 years to bring Yellow Rose to the big screen. So many people told her there was no market for a small film such as this despite its distinguished cast.
Salonga won a Tony for her best actress performance in Miss Saigon. She is also a Disney Legend for her roles in Aladdin and Mulan. Noblezada has two Tony nominations to her credit for Miss Saigon and Hadestown.
“My cast starting with Eva Noblezada was amazing and so present,” said the director. “Everybody including Lea Salonga who has so much experience put their trust in me. I think the greatest thing about working with theater actors who are as seasoned and talented as Eva and Lea is that they show up prepared. And they are trained to be able to do things over and over again with different variations. And that’s so helpful in film.”
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