Dante Basco and his fabulous Filipino family

MANILA, Philippines — Hollywood star Dante Basco makes his directorial debut in The Fabulous Filipino Brothers, a film that draws both inspiration and participation from his own Filipino-American family.

Dante also stars in the film alongside his real brothers Darion, Dionysio and Derek. They all get the chance to shine in the film that is told through four vignettes.

“I think, it was time for me to direct the film as a story that’s been in my mind, that I’ve been developing for a while. And it’s all based on intimate stories from my family. The whole film is based on true stories,” Dante told The STAR in a recent one-on-one interview.

“And I was able to do what I — when I get to talk at film schools and drama schools — tell young filmmakers that if you want to write, write what you know, and that’s really what I did. My brother (Darion) and I wrote this film, its first draft, that’s how it all began.”

The film tells the story of four brothers from Pittsburg, California as they prepare to reunite for a wedding. Along the way, they have individual experiences that challenge their beliefs on family, relationships and culture.

The Fabulous Filipino Brothers is produced by Cignal Entertainment and will be available on Netflix worldwide, except for North America and Europe, starting tomorrow, Nov. 17.

“We’ve developed a lot of films at the same time, and I’m thankful that when we were pitching films out, Cignal Entertainment was very gracious to produce this film with me.”

Dante has been the face of Filipino and Asian representation long before what he had described as the “golden age of Asian filmmaking” due to the successes of Parasite and Crazy Rich Asians. He entered the mainstream entertainment scene through the 1991 Hollywood blockbuster hit Hook. In the film directed by Steven Spielberg and topbilled by the late Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, among other heavyweights, Dante starred as the leader of Neverland’s Lost Boys, Rufio.

Before his breakout role in Hook, a San Francisco Chronicle feature article said that in 1986, Dante and his three brothers, chaperoned by their mother, moved to Los Angeles with $100 baon from their father and a “deadline of about a year to find success in the entertainment industry.”

You could say that The Fabulous Filipino Brothers was borne out of his fabulous adventures and perhaps, misadventures with his brothers through the years. This film, he added, essentially started when “we were born.”

“The thing about it is, I’ve known these guys, the Fabulous Filipino Brothers, my whole lives, so there’s no (singular event that) sparked it… Every story (vignette), everything yet, is based on one, if not a few things in our lives. If you’d ask each brother, they would know exactly where I’ve pulled each story from and how we changed it to be more like this story,” he said.

Dante also looked back at how their collective experiences in Hollywood ultimately led to the making of the film. “All of us brothers together, we’ve been in Hollywood for 35 years — dancing, acting, writing, poetry, everything. But all the experiences and everything we’ve done have led us up to making this movie right now. It’s unbelievable that, you know, the world’s gonna be able to see the film on Netflix and it’s exciting. But make no mistake, this started when we were children.”

Given its autobiographical elements, the film naturally carries actual footage from when the brothers were touted as the “Filipino Jackson 5” and even officially recognized in Los Angeles as the “First Filipino Entertainment Family.”

Asked how it felt to be revisiting their past through the movie, Dante shared, “It’s really, really beautiful. I think it starts with a conversation that I’m having with the film community, right? Because the generation that grew up with me and my brothers in the Filipino-American community, the kids that grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, (they) grew up watching me and us grow up through all the stuff we’ve done in television and film.”

He continued, “We had a band that would go around. We were like, in our own way, the Filipino Jackson 5. For the Fil-Am (community), they knew who we were. They’ve known what the conversation was and those pictures (in the film) kind of give us a little bit of history of who these guys are, could have been.

“But it’s interesting for people outside the community to see it because you get to see, you know, these Filipino actors. You get to see four leading men that are Filipino, that are in the same family, that are totally different.”

Dante further noted how important it is “in this new era of filmmaking — at this Asian golden era of filmmaking with Crazy Rich Asians and Parasite — for us to tell a Filipino story and add to what’s going on in the movement, and to give four Filipino leading men this whole thing.”

Of course, they aren’t just any Filipino leading men; they have a long history with the industry that deserves to be shared to a wider audience through this film.

Besides the Basco brothers, their only sister and parents are also in The Fabulous Filipino Brothers. Other actors come from their extended family, or people they grew up and studied with, including actresses Liza Lapira and Cheryl Tsai, and comedian Joey Guila.

As the film had scenes shot in the Philippines, Dante got to work with Solenn Heussaff who plays a love interest. He was also happy to have acted anew with veteran actor Tirso Cruz III who played his father in the first Filipino-American film, The Debut, back in 2000.

“Actually, I’ve been going back to the Philippines for a few years now, working with various artists from Jericho Rosales to Rhian Ramos,” he said, noting that Rhian was his co-star in Empty By Design, which was also co-produced by Cignal Entertainment. “So, I love being a part of that. That world also out there, the other artistas out there.”

Dante, whose father’s side is from Pangasinan and his mother’s family is from Zambales, described each homecoming to the Philippines as beautiful and he wanted to reflect that in the vignette where his character gets to return to the country.

“I really wanted to infuse all the romance and love, and the feeling that I feel like the warmth of going home and being accepted and being embraced by my homeland. And what wonder that is for a lot of us, being Filipinos abroad.

“Whether you’re Filipino-American, Filipino-Australian and Filipino anywhere else in the world, of course, we’re very proud to be Filipinos. But the ability to go home and reconnect with just the community, the culture, the family is an experience that changes you. Even though that’s not what the vignette is ultimately about, I want that to be a part of that particular vignette. And, you know, just the magic of that all.”

Interestingly, Hook, which gave Dante his first big showbiz break, is celebrating its 30th year this 2021. Since then, he has also become known for his voice-acting career, most notable of which are Prince Zuko from Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and Jake Long from Disney Channel’s American Dragon: Jake Long. He now hosts a popular podcast Avatar: Braving the Elements, the official companion podcast for the world of Avatar from Nickelodeon.

The 46-year-old shared his thoughts about his Hollywood journey.

“It’s amazing. Hook was 30 years ago, 1991, and now it’s 2021. It’s just crazy, you know, 30 years! It goes by so fast. I started off years before that as a breakdancer. It has been a wild ride in Hollywood, from breakdancer, to actor to voice actor to poet to writer-producer to now director, author and podcaster. But it’s been amazing.”

Dante reflected on the current state of Asian representation in Hollywood: “Where we are as Asians in the industry, we’re in the highest profile we’ve been since the beginning of Hollywood. So, this is a pioneering time for Asians in pop culture media, of course, with the big bang of Crazy Rich Asians and then the Oscar-winning Parasite.

“Even Shang-Chi is coming out, Marvel’s first Asian superhero. So, it’s really amazing times here in Hollywood. We all know each other. We’re all connected. We’re all inspired by each other. Me doing this film is really just adding a Filipino story to this movement.

“Of course, before me, recently, Yellow Rose came out, a beautiful film. Jo Koy has his Easter Sunday film coming out. I’m very hopeful for what’s to come. There’s more Filipino filmmakers in the wings, making things and so I think the future’s bright for us as Filipinos and as Asians in the industry. It’s really a golden era at the moment and I don’t think it’s gonna stop anytime soon. We’re all trying to keep pushing this envelope, being inspired by each other.”