Bitter Melon: The First Cut is director H.P. Mendoza's favorite cut of his a tragicomic "home for the holidays" movie in which a Filipino-American family plots to kill an abusive member. The film screen will be followed by a Q&A with H.P.

Stars: Jon Norman Schneider, Patrick Epino, Brian Rivera

NR, 106 mins., 2018. Closed Captions (CC) in English. 

This event is part of a series celebrating the art of director/writer/musician/performer H.P. Mendoza.

H.P. Mendoza is a Filipino-American filmmaker best known for his work as screenwriter, composer and lyricist on Colma: The Musical (2006), as well as his art-house horror film, I Am a Ghost (2012). After his directorial debut, Fruit Fly (2009), Mendoza was inducted into Essential SF by the San Francisco Film Society, which supported his Filipino-American dramedy, Bitter Melon (2018). Bitter Melon was dubbed one of the “20 Best Bay Area Films of the Decade.” Mendoza's newest film, The Secret of Art of Human Flight, starring Academy Award nominee Paul Raci, opened in theaters on July 4th, 2024, and is now available on home video. 

H.P. Mendoza - Website  | H.P. Mendoza - X/Twitter | H.P. Mendoza - Instagram | H.P. Mendoza - YouTube