After a year of touring the film festival circuit and winning three Special Jury Prizes, Colma: The Musical was theatrically released on June 22, 2007, through Roadside Attractions and Lions Gate Entertainment.

In the small town of Colma, a foggy South San Francisco suburb where most of the land consists of cemeteries, Billy, Rodel, and Maribel are three best friends who have just graduated from high school.

After Billy decides to audition for a regional musical, he meets college student and potential love interest Tara.

Mendoza reunited with film school classmate Richard Wong, who had just finished working on the television show Arrested Development and was looking for a script to direct.

[1] Much of the film was shot in San Francisco's Mission District and Daly City,[7] but filmmakers were able to shoot in Colma when scenes with fog were needed.

[11] The site's critics consensus reads, "Three teens contemplate life after high school while singing their hearts out in this fresh musical.

"[11] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times selected the film as a Critic's Pick and called it "an itty-bitty movie with a great big heart [that] is about how we learn to give voice -- joyfully, honestly, loudly -- to the truest parts of ourselves.

[3] In honor of the film's tenth anniversary in 2016, CAAMFest hosted a special screening that included a cast-and-crew reunion, an audience sing-along and live performances.