Photos: Lea Salonga, Princess Punzalan, Jose Llana And More Celebrate At AAIFF42 Screening Of YELLOW ROSE

Asian CineVision opened The 42nd Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF42) with the timely immigration drama YELLOW ROSE on Thursday night at Asia Society in New York.

Tony Award Winner and Disney Legend Lea Salonga (Once on this Island, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Allegiance, Flower Drum Song) flew straight from London where she recently wrapped The Human Heart Tour at The London Palladium, to join cast members Filipina screen veteran Princess Punzalan and Liam Booth (Ghosts Never Sleep), Director/Writer Diane Paragas and Lead Producer Cecilia R. Mejia after the screening on stage for a Q&A moderated by Christina Dehaven.

Broadway vet Jose Llana, who has been starring as the King in The King and I UK Tour, surprised Ms. Salonga at the reception after the screening. The pair starred in David Henry Hwang's revisal of Flower Drum Song in 2002.

YELLOW ROSE is the deeply personal narrative feature debut from Filipina American writer and director Diane Paragas. Rose, played by Two-time Tony Nominee Eva Noblezada (Hadestown, Miss Saigon), an undocumented Filipina, dreams of one day leaving her small Texas town to pursue her country music dreams. Her world is shattered when her mom (Princess Punzalan) is suddenly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Rose, facing this new realty, is forced to flee the scene, leaving behind the only life she knows, and embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she searches for a new home in the honky-tonk world of Austin, Texas. The cast also includes Lea Salonga, country music star Dale Watson (Friday Night Lights), Gustavo Gomez (The Walking Dead), Libby Villari (Boyhood), and Liam Booth. Set to a poignant soundtrack featuring original songs by Paragas, Noblezada, Watson and the cast, this coming-of-age story brings forth the power of music and art to provide strength in the face of the harsh plight confronting countless immigrant families across the country.

YELLOW ROSE won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 2019 Bentonville Film Festival, 2019 CAAMFest and the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, with Eva Noblezada taking Best Breakout Actor.

There is an encore screening of YELLOW ROSE on Monday, July 29th at the Regal Essex Theater #3 at 6:15 p.m, which will be followed by a Q & A with the cast and creative team. yellowrosefilm.com

The film's producers include Cecilia R. Mejia, Rey Cuerdo, Orian Williams, Diane Paragas, Co-Producer Jeremiah Abraham, and Executive Producers Olivia de Jesus, John D. Lazatin, Miguel Sevilla, and Karen Elizaga.

The 42nd Asian American International Film Festival runs through August 3. Click here for more information and tickets.

Photo Credit: Lia Chang

The poster for Diane Paragas' YELLOW ROSE starring Eva Noblezada, Lea Salonga, Princess Punzalan and Dale Watson.

 

Leslie Lewis, Liam Booth, Producer Karen Elizaga, Co-producer Jeremiah Abraham, Director/Writer Diane Paragas, Lea Salonga, Princess Punzalan, Lead Producer Cecilia R. Mejia, Producer Orian Williams

 

Lea Salonga, Princess Punzalan

 

Director/Writer Diane Paragas

 

Lea Salonga, Princess Punzalan

 

Princess Punzalan

 

Lea Salonga

 

Asian Cinevision Executive Director John Woo and Diane Paragas

 

Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Anne del Castillo, Asian Cinevision Executive Director John Woo and YELLOW ROSE Director/Writer Diane Paragas

 

Lea Salonga and Victor Lirio

 

Lea Salonga, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Anne del Castillo, Asian Cinevision Executive Director John Woo

 

AAIFF42 Festival Director Kayla Wong and Princess Punzalan

 

Jose Llana and Maria-Christina Oliveras

 

Jose Llana and Maria-Christina Oliveras

 

AAIFF42 Staff and volunteers

 

Alexander Hodge

 

Alexander Hodge

 

Asian Cinevision Executive Director John Woo and AAIFF42 Festival Director Kayla Wong

 

 

The sold out house for YELLOW ROSE

 

Diane Paragas, Cecilia R. Mejia, Liam Booth, Princess Punzalan, Lea Salonga, Christina Dehaven

 

Diane Paragas, Cecilia R. Mejia, Liam Booth, Princess Punzalan, Lea Salonga, Christina Dehaven

 

Diane Paragas, Cecilia R. Mejia, Liam Booth, Princess Punzalan, Lea Salonga, Christina Dehaven

 

Diane Paragas with her mother

 

Victor Lirio and Rona Reyes Sieh

 

Dan Moynihan, Jarret Yoshida and Judge Doris Ling-Cohan

 

Maria-Christina Oliveras, Lea Salonga and Jose Llana

 

Maria-Christina Oliveras, Lea Salonga, Diane Paragas and her mother, Jose Llana, Victor Lirio and Lia Chang. Photo by Rona Reyes Sieh

 

Victor Lirio and Maria-Christina Oliveras

 

Jose Llana with Diane Paragas and her mother

 

Maria-Christina Oliveras, Jose Llana, Nicole Ponseca and a guest

 

Maria-Christina Oliveras and Elz Cuya Jones

 

Jay Ptashek, Karen Elizaga, Liesl Hara and Eric Elizaga

 

Asia Society's Rachel Cooper, Jose Llana and Maria-Christina Oliveras

 

Fiona Fu

 

Patrick Chen, Fiona Fu and Lia Chang. Photo by Eric Elizaga

 

Nick Sakai, Liesl Hara and Eric Elizaga

 

Karen Elizaga and Diane Paragas

 

Rachel Cooper and Diane Paragas

 

Julian Kim, John Woo and Peter S. Lee

 

Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee

 

Alexander Hodge and Marissa Carpio

 

June Jee, Alexa Muller and Ernabel Demillo