H. P. Mendoza is a Filipino-American filmmaker and artist best known for his work as screenwriter, composer and actor on Colma: The Musical (2007), as well as his arthouse horror film, I Am a Ghost (2014) dubbed “H.P. Mendoza’s objet d’art” by Variety Magazine. Mendoza’s musical films have been dubbed “mumblechoral” by Steve Seid of Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
In 2012, Mendoza was inducted into Essential SF by San Francisco Film Society alongside Terry Zwigoff and Judy Stone and in 2018 crowned “San Francisco’s queer cinema poet” by David Lamble of the Bay Area Reporter.
Along with his feature films, Mendoza is also known for his music in films, installations and albums, notably his second album, Nomad, re-released for its 10th anniversary in 2016 in its proper 3D audio format and Folx, released and performed live in 2021. His third directorial feature, Bitter Melon (2018), placed on over a dozen Top 10 lists after its 2018 theatrical run and has been dubbed one of the “20 Best Bay Area Films of the Decade” by the Mercury News..
Mendoza’s sci-fi musical triptych Attack, Decay, Release is touring around the United States and recently won the Stubbornly Independent Award at the Tallgrass Film Festival. His latest film, The Secret of Art of Human Flight starring Academy Award® nominee Paul Raci, opened in theaters July 4th, 2024 and hits home video on August 23, 2024.
H.P. Mendoza is the 2023 recipient of the Marlon Riggs Award, by the San Francisco Film Critics Circle.