The Lunch: A Letter to America
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

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.
Filmography:
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)





