VETERANO
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
PATRICK EPINO
PRODUCED BY
PAOLA MARDO & PATRICK EPINO
INSTAGRAM
@NATIONALFILMSOCIETY
THE SHORT FILM
A proof-of-concept.
An origin story.
Step into the world of VETERANO.
LOGLINE
A desperate Filipino World War II veteran with nothing left to lose dusts off his past and his pistol for one last mission in 1981 San Francisco.
SYNOPSIS
Set in 1981, San Francisco, VETERANO follows Valentino (Jon Jon Briones), a desperate Filipino World War II veteran beaten down by the system. Within the crumbling walls of his rundown apartment, he dusts off his pistol, grabs his old army jacket, and hits the streets of the city on an unspoken mission. When he enters a bank, the room turns. Time slows. And he must make a moral choice that could cost him everything.
From Filipino American writer/director Patrick Epino, VETERANO is a neo-noir crime thriller that combines the adrenaline-fueled intensity of a bank heist with the overlooked history of Filipino WWII veterans who were stripped of their promised American citizenship and benefits, a betrayal with consequences that still echo today.
Taut and atmospheric, the film asks how far one man is willing to go to collect what he’s owed and why. It is a proof-of-concept and main character origin story for a feature film.
THE FEATURE FILM
A fresh take on a bank heist thriller.
A timely, propulsive two-hander genre film about…
survival,
sacrifice,
and what happens when
those the world has left behind
decide to fight back.
LOGLINE
In the dark corners of 1981 San Francisco, a desperate Filipino World War II veteran launches a frantic bank robbery spree to save his dying best friend, putting him on a direct collision course with a young, ambitious detective eager to make his mark.
WATCH THIS SPACE
MORE TO COME
DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND . . .
UPCOMING FESTIVALS
PROOF Film Festival
American Cinematheque
NOV 7 BUY TICKETS 🎟️
San Diego Asian Film Festival
NOV 13 BUY TICKETS 🎟️
PREVIOUS FESTIVALS
Fantasia International Film Festival
International Premiere
Short Film Competition
LA Asian Pacific Film Festival
World Premiere
Hawaii International Film Festival
Short Film Competition
Asian American International Film Festival
Audience Award
G.I. Film Festival
Manila International Film Festival
Asian American Showcase Chicago
The Roxie Theater Mixtape Festival
Flores Film Festival
San Diego Filipino Film Festival
FESTIVAL AWARDS
Fantasia International Film Festival
Best International Short Film Nominee
WINNER Outstanding Performance
Asian American International Film Festival
WINNER Audience Award
Hawaii International Film Festival
Best Short Film Nominee / TBA Nov 3
G.I. Film Festival
Best Actor Nominee
PROGRAMS/LABS (FEATURE FILM)
2027 Sundance Development Lab Second Round
2026 Gotham Project Market Finalist
2025 Producers Guild of America Create Producing Lab
2025 Gotham Week Project Market Finalist
2025 Sundance Development Lab Second Round
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
VETERANO is a dramatic crime thriller inspired by the overlooked history Filipino World War II veterans (“veteranos”), who fought for the United States only to have their promised citizenship and benefits stripped away by the 1946 Rescission Act.
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. VETERANO started as a feature film inspired by trips with my father to a Filipino barbershop in the city, and a local news report about abused Filipino veterans. As I got older, the project became more personal. I learned about the challenges the veteranos faced while reflecting on my own aging Filipino immigrant parents, navigating the cracks of a system built on their labor but not for them.
I wanted to tell a story about the veteranos that did not focus on their trauma. That gave them agency, humanity, and joy.
VETERANO about chosen family, sacrifice, and the lengths you’ll go to take care of your own.
In this short film, we meet Valentino as he ponders an impossible choice.
In the feature, he is thrust into the larger world of 1981 San Francisco, with a vibrant Filipino scene and a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between Valentino and the law in the gritty streets of a pre-tech city.
PATRICK EPINO
Patrick Epino is a screenwriter and director based in Los Angeles. His short film VETERANO premiered internationally at Fantasia, where it was selected for Official Competition, International Short Film, and won for Outstanding Performance. His feature script for VETERANO was selected for the 2025-2026 PGA Create Lab, advanced to the second round of the Sundance Development Lab in 2024 and 2026, and was a finalist for the Gotham Week Project Market in 2025 and 2026.
Born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland and Berkeley, Patrick was a latchkey kid who grew up on home video and movie theaters. An actor’s director, he was inspired to make films by Spike Lee, John Cassavetes, and John Hughes. His debut feature, MR. SADMAN (Scoot McNairy, Qaid Al-Nomani), was an official selection of the Gotham Narrative Labs and Gotham Week. He co-directed the web series AWESOME ASIAN BAD GUYS (Randall Park, Tamlyn Tomita), which was adapted from a viral video on the National Film Society YouTube channel, part of PBS Digital Studios.
WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER
PAOLA MARDO
Paola Mardo is an independent filmmaker focused on genre-driven, global films with distinct voice and vision, backed by over a decade of experience in film, podcasts, and audience building. Her debut short film VETERANO premiered internationally at Fantasia, where it was selected for Official Competition, International Short Film, and won for Outstanding Performance. She is a 2025 PGA Create Lab Fellow.
Previously, Paola served as SVP, Head of Audio at Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media (SINNERS), where she earned a 2024 NAACP Image Award and Webby Award for WAKANDA FOREVER: THE OFFICIAL BLACK PANTHER PODCAST, hosted by New York Times best-selling author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates. She also created, hosted, directed, and produced IN PROXIMITY (streaming on HBO Max, YouTube), which earned Webby Honors for Arts & Culture, Film & TV, and Best Video Series.
Born in LA’s Historic Filipinotown and raised in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and the San Francisco Bay Area, Paola created and hosted LONG DISTANCE, a narrative podcast on the Filipino diaspora selected for the inaugural Google Podcasts Creator Program. She began her career at Sony Pictures, Annapurna Pictures, and Pushkin Industries.
PRODUCER
JON JON BRIONES
Jon Jon Briones can currently be seen on Ryan Murphy’s THE BEAUTY. He will next appear in Season 3 of Netflix’s live-action series AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER as master swordsman Piandao, and in Season 2 of PRESUMED INNOCENT. On stage, he has starred on Broadway as Hermes in the Tony Award-winning HADESTOWN and is well-known for his role as the Engineer in Broadway’s MISS SAIGON. He recently won Outstanding Performance at the Fantasia International Film Festival for his lead role as Valentino in Patrick Epino’s crime thriller VETERANO.
Other screen credits include the Netflix limited series CLASS OF ‘09, Disney’s live-action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and a starring role on Murphy’s Golden Globe-nominated Netflix series RATCHED. He has also appeared in AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE, STAR TREK: PICARD, and AMERICAN HORROR STORY, with recent guest star appearances on FBI: MOST WANTED and THE EQUALIZER. On the big screen, he starred in the Amblin feature THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER. He also lends his vocal talents to the Nickelodeon series TRANSFORMERS: EARTHSPARK and Netflix’s TRESE.
“VALENTINO”
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