Private Project

LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE

The LUMPIA-armed avenger reappears in Fogtown and teams up with high school student Rachel to prevent a crime syndicate from selling drugs masked as food in this crowdfunded action comedy.

  • Patricio Ginelsa
    Director
  • Patricio Ginelsa
    Writer
  • Chris Santiago
    Writer
  • Bernard Badion
    Writer
  • Lawrence Iriarte
    Producer
  • Lisa Chong
    Producer
  • Jeff Lam
    Producer
  • Rey Cuerdo
    Producer
    Yellow Rose, Ulam
  • A.J. Calomay
    Producer
    LUMPIA
  • Mark Muñoz
    Key Cast
    "Silent Avenger / Kuya"
  • April Absynth
    Key Cast
    "Rachel"
  • Danny Trejo
    Key Cast
    "Reyes"
    Machete, Desperado
  • Francis Custodio
    Key Cast
    "Mon Mon / James"
  • Edward Baon
    Key Cast
    "Tyrone"
  • Katrina Jayne Dimaranan
    Key Cast
    "Jemini"
  • Darion Basco
    Key Cast
    "Detective Bayani"
  • Earl Baylon
    Key Cast
    "George"
  • Caelan Scrivener
    Key Cast
    "Richard"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Action, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 49 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 29, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Tagalog
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:4:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Hawai'i International Film Festival
    Honolulu
    United States
    November 7, 2020
    World Premiere
    Audience Award - Best Narrative Feature
  • CAAMFest
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
    May 14, 2021
    San Francisco Premiere
    Official Selection
  • DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival
    Washington, DC
    United States
    July 15, 2021
    East Coast Premiere
    Centerpiece Selection
  • Asian American International Film Festival
    New York, NY
    United States
    August 19, 2021
    New York Premiere
    Centerpiece Selection
  • Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    October 1, 2021
    Los Angeles Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Boston Asian American Film Festival
    Boston, MA
    United States
    October 22, 2021
    New England Premiere
    Official Premiere
  • San Diego Asian Film Festival
    San Diego, CA
    United States
    October 29, 2021
    San Diego Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Vancouver Asian Film Festival
    Vancouver, BC
    Canada
    November 13, 2021
    International Premiere
    Official Selection
  • San Diego Comic Con Special Edition
    San Diego, CA
    United States
    November 26, 2021
    San Diego Comic Con SE Premiere
Director Biography - Patricio Ginelsa

Patricio Ginelsa is originally from Daly City, CA, where his passion for filmmaking ignited while making neighborhood movies at the age of 13. After receiving his BA in cinema production at USC, his life changed as the Associate Producer of the award-winning film The Debut (2000), in which he assisted in its two-year long theatrical self-distribution tour (later picked up by Sony Pictures), and where he met his wife Melanie. Patricio then completed Lumpia in 2003 which Variety raved as a movie that takes “low budget to new heights…and should be shown in high-school media classes across the continent.” He’s directed over a decade’s worth of commercials and music videos, three of them for the Grammy-Award winning Black Eyed Peas: The Apl Song and two versions of Bebot, one of which was lauded with the California Preservation Foundation Presidents Award for its focus on Stockton’s Little Manila District.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When I started this journey, did I know this would take 7 years to complete? No, but I was ready for it. I attended the school of THE DEBUT, the 2000 Filipino American independent film I spent years as an associate producer driving cross country to different pockets of Filipino communities throughout the United States educating them to support the movie. I saw firsthand what it took and how long it could take to get a film about our community completed. A movie about a hero who throws spring rolls as a weapon would be greenlight by a studio... but I knew our fellow Lumpia lovers would get it!

It all goes back to that idea that you can’t expect other people to make our stories. Many don't realize how difficult it is to produce a feature length movie with people of color. But we believed we had the resources, the talent, and the INFLUENCE to make it happen. We've been very fortunate to be part of some of the higher profile projects in the Filipino American community. From THE DEBUT to the BLACK EYED PEAS music videos, we've been able to use these platforms to empower our community. THE DEBUT proved at the time that it was possible for a Filipino American movie to play in mainstream movie theatres and to be distributed (home video) by a Hollywood studio. We used the Black Eyed Peas APL SONG music video to talk about our Filipino WWII veteranos while one version of our BEBOT music video captured the Filipino farmers of 1936 Stockton, CA.

"With great power comes great responsibility". In acknowledging how rare these opportunities are, we utilized our network to include as many notable Fil-Am stars and professionals in front of and behind the camera as a way to showcase the force of talent in our community. So, we basically used that same playbook when crafting LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE, a crazy comic book action comedy starring a kick-ass Filipino American role model as its action lead. It has all the potential ingredients needed to capture a universal audience while being an empowering experience for those who want see more people that look like them in the lead roles.

I'm most proud of my team who kept this movie afloat through thick and thin all while maintaining their day jobs. I'd like to think we captured that genuine, risky, independent spirit of filmmaking. Despite all the challenges and financial hardships, we would always circle back and rely on our backers to motivate us and push us through the finish line. So here we are, ready to showcase and represent our delicious film! It took longer than what we anticipated, but we felt a huge responsibility to deliver a feature film that was worthy of their support.

We hope you enjoy our movie as much as we enjoyed making it. Love that LUMPIA!