Colma: The Musical

Last updated

Colma: The Musical
Colma- The Musical FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed byRichard Wong
Screenplay by H.P. Mendoza
Story byH.P. Mendoza
Richard Wong
Produced byRichard Wong
Paul Kolsanoff
StarringJake Moreno
H.P. Mendoza
L.A. Renigen
Sigrid Sutter
Larry Soriano
Brian Raffi
CinematographyRichard Wong
Edited byRichard Wong
Music byH.P. Mendoza
Production
company
Greenrocksolid
Distributed by Roadside Attractions
Release dates
  • March 21, 2006 (2006-03-21)(CAAMFest)
  • June 22, 2007 (2007-06-22)(United States)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15,000 [1]
Box office$41,131 [2]

Colma: The Musical is a 2006 American musical independent film directed by Richard Wong and written by H.P. Mendoza. The film, which is Wong's feature directorial debut, is a coming of age story based on the lives and the relationships between three teenagers living in Colma. Colma: The Musical features 13 songs all written and produced by H.P. Mendoza.

Contents

The film premiered on March 21, 2006, at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. After a year of touring the film festival circuit and winning three Special Jury Prizes, Colma: The Musical was theatrically released on June 22, 2007, through Roadside Attractions and Lions Gate Entertainment.

Plot

In the small town of Colma, a foggy South San Francisco suburb where most of the land consists of cemeteries, Billy, Rodel, and Maribel are three best friends who have just graduated from high school. After Billy decides to audition for a regional musical, he meets college student and potential love interest Tara. Billy's acting aspirations put a strain on his friendships with Rodel and Maribel. Meanwhile, Rodel struggles with coming out of the closet to his conservative single father, and Maribel struggles to figure out what to do with her life after graduation.

Cast

Production

After writing a concept album called Colma: The Musical as a birthday present for a childhood friend, H.P. Mendoza reunited with film school classmate Richard Wong, who had just finished working on the television show Arrested Development and was looking for a script to direct. [3] [4] When Wong listened to a track from Mendoza's album, he prodded him to adapt it into a script. [3] Work on the film began by phone in May 2005; after a first draft of the script was produced in seven days, Mendoza flew from his residence in Philadelphia to San Francisco to make the film. [3] [5] Mendoza loosely based the script on his experiences growing up in Colma. [6]

The film was shot on location on digital video in 18 days. [1] Much of the film was shot in San Francisco's Mission District and Daly City, [7] but filmmakers were able to shoot in Colma when scenes with fog were needed. [8] Wong self-funded the budget of $15,000. [1] [3] Musical scenes were done using one long take. [1] The music for the film was recorded in Wong's garage. [1] [3]

Release

The film premiered at CAAMFest on March 21, 2006, and won the festival's Special Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature. [9] Wong said, "We played at over 40 film festivals, and I think the fact that it played so much and so many people saw it [generated] a word of mouth that carried it a long way, much longer than we expected." [3] Colma: The Musical was eventually acquired for distribution by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate Entertainment. The film was given a limited theatrical release on June 22, 2007.

The film was released on DVD on November 20, 2007, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. [10] The DVD includes deleted scenes and an audio commentary by director Richard Wong and writer H.P. Mendoza.

Reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Colma: The Musical has an approval rating of 90% based on 31 critics' reviews. [11] The site's critics consensus reads, "Three teens contemplate life after high school while singing their hearts out in this fresh musical." [11]

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times selected the film as a Critic's Pick and called it "an itty-bitty movie with a great big heart [that] is about how we learn to give voice -- joyfully, honestly, loudly -- to the truest parts of ourselves." [12] Dennis Harvey of Variety said the film "has a fresher look and feel than many a big-budget studio production" and "this unexpected delight reps a less pretentious rock musical than 'Hedvig,' with music just as good." [13]

Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle said that the film "deserves to be seen for its sheer originality and audacity", and likened the film to American Graffiti and Diner. [14] She also commented that while Rodel's coming out storyline has the potential to become cliche, the "situation is made to seem fresh by the genuine distress Mendoza displays and by Rodel's father's odd combination of strictness and obliqueness." [14] Jurgen Fauth and Marcy Dermansky of About.com wrote, "Colma doesn't deflate or abuse the conventions of the musical; it relies on them to tell three heartbreakingly honest tales about growing up", and commented, "There hasn't been a movie that lays out the confusion and heartbreak of the first tentative steps into adulthood this mercilessly since Ghost World ." [15]

Negative reviews came from The Village Voice with Julia Wallace saying "it's unfortunate that Colma pays so little attention to Colma; it may as well be set anywhere". [16]

Legacy

Colma: The Musical acquired a cult following through home video airings and streaming. [3] In honor of the film's tenth anniversary in 2016, CAAMFest hosted a special screening that included a cast-and-crew reunion, an audience sing-along and live performances. [8] [17] In 2019, the Los Angeles Times listed Colma: The Musical as one of the 20 best Asian American films of the last 20 years, calling it a "miraculous microbudget musical" and crediting the film with having "introduced the world to the inventive eye of Wong and the infectious melodies of composer-lyricist-actor Mendoza." [18]

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2022, The Criterion Collection streamed 20 Asian American films including Colma: The Musical as part of their Asian American Filmmaking Series. [19]

Awards and nominations

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colma, California</span> Town in San Mateo County, California

Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924.

The San Francisco International Film Festival, organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and video production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured U.S. distribution. In 2009, it served around 82,000 patrons, with screenings held in San Francisco and Berkeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royston Tan</span> Singaporean filmmaker (born 1976)

Royston Tan is a Singaporean filmmaker and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CAAMFest</span> Asian American film festival in San Francisco, California, U.S.

CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation's largest showcase for new Asian American and Asian films. It annually presents approximately 130 works in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose. The festival is organized by the Center for Asian American Media.

Ham Tran is a Vietnamese American film writer, editor, and director. He is of Hoa ancestry, specifically Teochew.

Americanese is a 2006 American romantic drama film directed by Eric Byler and starring Chris Tashima, Allison Sie, Kelly Hu, Ben Shenkman, Autumn Reeser, and Joan Chen. It is based on the novel American Knees by Shawn Wong, concerning the relationships of a man and woman of East Asian descent in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ying Liang</span>

Ying Liang is a Chinese independent film director and screenwriter.

<i>Fruit Fly</i> (film) 2009 American film

Fruit Fly is a 2009 musical film with gay and Asian-American themes, directed by H.P. Mendoza, who wrote the screenplay for Colma The Musical (2007). The film, made entirely in San Francisco, premiered on March 15, 2009 at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. It had a limited one-week run in New York on September 24, 2010.

H. P. Mendoza is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He is best known for his micro-budget work as screenwriter, composer and lyricist on Colma: The Musical (2006) which was placed in the Los Angeles Times Top 20 Best Asian American Films List, as well as his follow-up musical and directorial debut, Fruit Fly (2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center for Asian American Media</span>

The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) was founded in 1980. The San Francisco–based organization, formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA), has grown into the largest organization dedicated to the advancement of Asian Americans in independent media, specifically the areas of television and filmmaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feodor Chin</span> American actor, producer, director and writer

Feodor Chin is an American actor, writer, and comedian from San Francisco, California. As an actor, he was classically trained at UCLA, the American Conservatory Theater, and has studied with renowned acting coach, Larry Moss. He was a Maude Night performer at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre for three seasons. TV credits include Big Little Lies, Good Trouble, American Auto, Pam & Tommy, Medical Police, Lethal Weapon, Jane the Virgin, The Affair, Speechless, and New Girl. Animation credits include the title role in Netflix's Uncle from Another World, Futurama, Marvel's Hit-Monkey and What If...?, and Cartoon Network's Regular Show. He is the voice of Zenyatta and Lee Sin in the hit video games, Overwatch / Overwatch 2 and League of Legends. He was a performer for the ABC Discovers Talent Showcase and a writer for the CBS Diversity Comedy Showcase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Boyle</span> American film director

Dave Boyle is an American director, writer, editor, and actor. He has written and directed several movies that utilize primarily Asian or Asian-American casts, including the feature films Big Dreams Little Tokyo (2006), White on Rice (2009), Surrogate Valentine (2011), Daylight Savings (2012), and Man from Reno (2014), several of which have won awards at film festivals around the world.

Patrick Epino is an American filmmaker from San Francisco.

Frank Wong is a San Francisco, California artist who creates miniature dioramas that depict the San Francisco Chinatown of Wong's youth during the 1930s and 1940s. His works include his grandmother's kitchen, the family's living room at Christmas, an herb shop, Chinese laundry, shoeshine stand, and life in a single room occupancy hotel common in Chinatown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Phang</span> American filmmaker

Jennifer Phang is an American filmmaker, most known for her feature films Advantageous (2015) and Half-Life (2008). Advantageous premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, winning a Special Jury Award for Collaborative Vision, and was based on her award-winning short film of the same name. Half-Life premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and won "Best Film" awards at a number of film festivals including the Gen Art Film Festival, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival as well an "Emerging Director Award" at the Asian American International Film Festival.

<i>9-Man</i> (film) 2014 American film

9-Man is a 2014 American documentary film about the sport 9-man played in Chinatowns in the U.S. and Canada. The New York Times called it "an absorbing documentary."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silas Howard</span> American director, writer, and actor

Silas Howard is an American film and television director, writer, and actor. His first feature film By Hook or by Crook (2001) co-directed with Harry Dodge is a seminal trans masc feature. Howard earned an MFA in directing at UCLA and is a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow. He began directing episodes during the second season of Transparent, making him the show's first trans director.

<i>Bang Bang</i> (2011 film) 2011 American film

Bang Bang is a 2011 drama, gangster film directed and written by Byron Q. It stars Thai Ngo, David Huynh, Jessika Van, Wally Randolph, Vanna Fut, Kitty Chu and others. It premiered at the 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival from Visual Communications, where it won the Best First Feature Award. It has also been commented to be influenced by the French New Wave films, as Director Jean-Pierre Gorin was a teacher of the film's director Byron Q while at UCSD.

<i>Yes, Were Open</i> 2012 American film

Yes, We're Open is a 2012 American independent film directed by Richard Wong and written by H.P. Mendoza, the first collaboration between Wong and Mendoza since their 2006 debut film, Colma: The Musical. The film premiered March 11, 2012 at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. After a year of touring the film festival circuit and winning Best Screenplay at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Yes, We're Open was released on home video on October 12, 2012.

<i>Bitter Melon</i> (film) 2018 American film

Bitter Melon, is an independent 2018 American dark comedy film written and directed by H.P. Mendoza. It debuted at the 2018 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and was released theatrically by ABS-CBN on December 7, 2018 and on home video by Gravitas Ventures on October 1, 2019. The film's title refers to the tropical vegetable with a bitter flavor known in the Philippines as ampalaya.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Willmore, Alison (July 23, 2007). "Richard Wong on "Colma: The Musical"". IFC . Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Colma: The Musical". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tseng, Ada (March 10, 2016). "Revisiting 'Colma,' the Micro-Budget Film That Became a 'Cult Classic,' 10 Years Later". NBC News . Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Critics give movie based in Colma thumbs-up". San Francisco Examiner . August 31, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  5. ↑ Wong, Richard (November 26, 2007). "Colma: The Musical and Me". CAAMFest. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  6. ↑ Vigil, Delfin (June 19, 2006). "First-time filmmakers sing out against stereotypes in 'Colma'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  7. ↑ "'Colma: The Musical' uses Peninsula as backdrop". East Bay Times . May 11, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Grady, Pam (March 2, 2016). "10 years after 'Colma' musical, CAAMFest celebrates H.P. Mendoza". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Tseng, Ada (September 19, 2006). "Dancing in the Moonlight". UCLA Pacific Arts Center . Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Colma: The Musical DVD". Amazon. November 20, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Colma: The Musical (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  12. ↑ Dargis, Manohla (July 6, 2007). "Big Teenage Dreams, Small-Town Doldrums". The New York Times .
  13. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (March 29, 2006). "Colma: The Musical". Variety. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Stein, Ruthe (June 22, 2007). "Restless Colma teens burst with life -- and into song". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  15. ↑ Fauth, Jurgen; Dermansky, Marcy. "Colma: The Musical - H.P. Mendoza - Richard Wong - Movie Review". About.com . Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  16. ↑ Wallace, Julia (June 26, 2007). "Colma: The Musical - Page 1 - Movies - New York". The Village Voice . Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Colma: The Musical". CAAMFest . Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  18. ↑ Hu, Brian (October 4, 2019). "The 20 best Asian American films of the last 20 years". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on December 2, 2022.
  19. ↑ "The Criterion Channel's April 2022 Lineup". The Criterion Channel. March 30, 2022.
  20. ↑ "2006 Award Winners". Visual Communications . Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  21. ↑ "2006 Award Winners". Pacific Arts Movement . Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  22. 1 2 Guerrasio, Jason (February 22, 2007). "Colma Rocks the Indie World". Filmmaker . Retrieved April 16, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.