1. Legacy

(October 29, 2014 at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco)

We shot I Am a Ghost in 2011 with a skeleton crew and a production budget of $7500 and we premiered at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival in 2012. Usually, after this year you focus on distribution but little did we know we were going to get so much attention in Europe, so 2013 was our overseas festival year which then led to interest from American buyers in 2014. This is the longest festival run I’d ever had and have yet to recreate that experience!

Ten years ago today, October 29, 2014, I Am a Ghost had its theatrical premiere at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, CA courtesy of Ersatz Film and Gravitas Ventures.

Castro Theatre audience

It was such a special night, the 1400 seat Castro Theater was packed, people showed up in costume - some as Emily, some as Star Trek characters because San Francisco. In the video below, you can see what Anna Ishida and I were up to, filming peoples’ reactions in the Castro Theatre while hiding in the balcony, like two giddy schoolkids.

By the time of our release, we’d made over a dozen top ten lists, four Best Picture awards, three Best Actress awards and three Best Director awards. And a crazy proud moment for us is when it tied for the Audience Award with Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity at La Samain du Cinema Fantastique.

Oh, these old things? 💅

Our FANGORIA spread!

To go from being ignored by the American festival circuit to being championed in Europe and Asia, coming full circle to being championed in America - this “little-film-that-could” has lived third and fourth lives as it started becoming more visible in horror circles, Asian-American festivals and queer spaces. And now, in 2024 as we start to make more announcements about our baby, I look forward to seeing the new life I Am a Ghost is about to lead.

H.P.

 

2. Streaming

And now, after a moment of not being available anywhere on streaming or TVOD and with all of the American physical media out of print (you can still find Spanish and Japanese discs), we’re happy to announce that Level 33 Entertainment is pushing a re-release of the film that will also include, by popular demand, a BluRay release.

And for Halloween 🎃, I Am a Ghost will be streaming for FREE on Tubi!
You can also rent or purchase on Vudu (Fandango at Home)

 

3. Scrapbook

We’re also putting out the I Am a Ghost Scrapbook, a BTS conversation between Anna Ishida and H.P. Mendoza:

 

4. New Essay by S.L. Void

And we have a new analysis from guest writer S.L. Void, specificallyu for the tenth anniversary of the film:

https://www.iamaghost.com/analyses-and-interpretations/2024/10/28/labyrinthian-queer-horror-on-the-anniversary-of-i-am-a-ghost-sl-void

 

5. Soundtrack

This was the second film I wrote and directed after Fruit Fly, and it was around this time that I realized that I’m probably always going to edit and compose my own films. You can listen to the soundtrack below!

 

6. Coming Soon!

 

Follow director H.P. Mendoza on X for more information!
https://x.com/hpmendoza