AllMovie

A woman searching for her parents goes on an unexpected journey of self-discovery in this comedy drama with music from filmmaker H.P. Mendoza. Bethesda (L.A. Renigen) never knew her mother when she was growing up; she was adopted by a family on the East Coast as a baby and has grown up wanting to know the truth about her birth parents. After a visit to the Philippines in search of her cultural identity, Bethesda has come to San Francisco, where she was born, in search of her mother. Bethesda, who is a performance artist, rents a room in a loft complex in San Francisco's Castro district, where she strikes up a fast friendship with a number of fellow artists living there. While Bethesda finds support and understanding from her new friends, she resents being regarded as a "fag hag," since the lion's share of her new pals are gay. However, as Bethesda is immersed in San Francisco's gay community and art scene, she begins to develop a greater understanding of herself and her identity, which has a powerful impact on her work. Also starring Mike Curtis, E.S. Park, and Theresa Navarro, Fruit Fly includes a handful of musical numbers featuring original songs by writer and director Mendoza; the film won the Audience Award at the 2009 San Francisco International Asian-American Film Festival.