The Lunch: A Letter to America

Local title
Lõunasöök: kiri Ameerikale
Original title
The Lunch: A Letter to America
Director
Gianluca Vassallo
Country
Year
2025
Festival
29th Black Nights Film Festival
Programme
Genre
Subject

A rare cinematic achievement: solitude, politics, and humanity in Trump’s divided America.

Eduardo, a Mexican cook in a Coney Island diner who crossed the desert two decades ago, becomes the unsuspecting centre of a story unfolding during the last week of the U.S. presidential campaign. Around him swirl fleeting encounters, patriotic hymns, prayers, accidental violence, tenderness, and landscapes of desperate beauty – an America at once raw and poetic.

The film avoids conventional narrative, weaving fragments of daily life into an unconventional and striking portrait of a nation divided yet profoundly human. As history closes in, Eduardo’s quiet presence collides with Robert, a steadfast Trump supporter, over something as simple as a hamburger. Told with what the filmmaker Gianluca Vassallo calls “punk clarity” and “riot delicacy,” this film stands out as a rare cinematic achievement – one seldom seen in films that attempt to capture America.

Marianna Kaat

Director
Gianluca Vassallo
Screenwriter
Gianluca Vassallo
Cast
Eduardo Hernandez, Robert Arnold Linsay, Michelle Elfers, Mark Leonard, Paul Street
Producer
Maddalena Satta
Cinematographer
Gianluca Vassallo
Production Design
Gianluca Vassallo
Editing
Gianluca Vassallo, Giulio Tiberti
Music
Whitney George
Sound
Daniele Guarnera
Production
White Box Studio srl
Sound
Percettiva srl
Editing
White Box Studio srl
Runtime
Language
Subtitles
Director
Gianluca Vassallo

Gianluca Vassallo (1974) is an artist, photographer, screenwriter, film director and political activist. After working as a musician, bookseller, and concert organiser, he dedicated himself fully to visual arts in 2011. His work has been exhibited in galleries in Italy and abroad. As a filmmaker, he is known for his personal and thoughtful style which blends people’s stories with social issues. His feature-length films include “Lockdown Ballad” (documentary, 2020), “James vs Wines” (documentary, 2022), “La Sedia” (fiction, 2023), and “Il Posto” (fiction, 2024). He is the founder and artistic director of White Box Studio where he works with other Sardinian artists.
Filmograafia:
Volevo solo sapere come stai (2021, doc, co-dir), James vs Wines: The highrise of meanings (2021, doc), La sedia (2023), Il posto (2024), The Lunch: A Letter to America (2025, doc)

Screenings

Screening050720 / Lõunasöök: kiri Ameerikale
Subtitles English
Q&A duration
Screening duration
Trailer