Gene Cajayon

Gene Cajayon was born in Saigon during the Vietnam War to a Filipino father and a Vietnamese-French mother. As an infant he and his family immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Orange County, California. Growing up with equal doses of Filipino, Vietnamese and American culture, he fell in love with movies at an early age. From Ang Lee to Spike Lee, he is influenced by a broad range of contemporary filmmakers, and is committed to portraying a diverse image of America in his work. Cajayon attended film school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he began work on The Debut, his first feature film. A groundbreaking coming-of-age story about a Filipino American family, Cajayon and his Producer Lisa Onodera (Picture Bride) completed The Debut after an arduous 8 year production process. From there the film embarked on a successful film festival run which included awards for Best Feature Film from the Hawaii International Film Festival and the San Diego Asian ...