On today’s episode, we sit down with Patrick Epino, an actor, producer, and filmmaker who proves that sometimes the best ideas start as a joke—and then turn into a feature film. Patrick’s journey from film school graduate to co-creator of Awesome Asian Bad Guys is a masterclass in community building, crowdfunding, and understanding your niche.
Patrick began his filmmaking path in the San Francisco Bay Area before earning his MFA in Cinema at San Francisco State University many filmmakers who obsess over massive thesis productions, Patrick embraced simplicity. He made projects cheaply, quickly, and creatively—sometimes for just a few hundred dollars. His philosophy was clear: get the bad films out of your system early, experiment often, and learn by doing.
After film school and a move to Los Angeles, Patrick partnered with Steven Dypiangco to launch the National Film Society, a YouTube channel dedicated to film culture. What started as online content creation evolved into something bigger. One of their early videos discussed a recurring Hollywood trope—the silent, hyper-lethal Asian villain who appears briefly, speaks little, and dies spectacularly. The video was titled Awesome Asian Bad Guys, and it resonated with audiences.
At the end of that short YouTube video, Patrick and Steven casually joked that someone should make an Expendables-style movie starring these iconic Asian villains. Then they paused—and realized they could be the ones to make it happen.
Instead of waiting for studio interest, they went directly to the audience. Their Kickstarter campaign raised over $50,000, but Patrick makes it clear: crowdfunding is not easy money. It requires relentless outreach, content creation, and constant engagement. They hosted live online events, created promotional graphics and updates, and leaned into the community they had built through YouTube. It wasn’t luck. It was preparation meeting opportunity.
The built-in audience was critical. Because they had already been producing videos consistently, they weren’t asking strangers for money—they were inviting supporters into the next chapter of a shared journey. That distinction matters. Crowdfunding works best when you’ve already invested in your audience long before you ask for support.
Casting the film followed a similar strategy. By leveraging relationships within the Asian American entertainment community, Patrick and his team created momentum. Each actor who joined added credibility, which attracted the next. It became a snowball effect fueled by trust and shared enthusiasm. The production moved quickly—shot in roughly eight days—with Patrick and Steven co-directing. Their prior collaboration made the dual-director dynamic work smoothly.
Of course, no indie production is without challenges. Scheduling conflicts required rewriting scenes overnight. Fight choreography demanded precision within limited time. Budget constraints forced creative problem-solving. But the team adapted, proving again that resourcefulness often outweighs resources.
Today, Awesome Asian Bad Guys lives on VOD platforms, and Patrick is already thinking ahead—to sequels, spin-offs, and expanding the universe to include “Awesome Asian Bad Girls.” The idea that started as a YouTube punchline has evolved into a proof of concept for niche-driven independent filmmaking.
Patrick Epino reminds us that you don’t need Hollywood’s permission to create. You need an audience, a team, and the courage to follow through on the idea everyone else laughs at.
