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JERSEY CITY DIRECTOR Vito LaBruno will premiere "The Last American Guido" today at the Loew's Theater in Jersey City.

(ASHLEE ESPINAL JOURNAL PHOTO)

Vito LaBruno may protect the streets of Jersey City at his day job as a police officer, but his real passion lies in filmmaking.

“The Last American Guido,” LaBruno’s first feature film, is set to premiere to the public on today at the The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Jersey City at 7 p.m. A sold-out private screening on Aug. 1 at Clearview Cinemas in Hoboken has been its only other showing.

LaBruno, 41, who has been a member of the Jersey City police force for 15 years, both wrote and directed the film. He started off as a patrolman, but now works in the department’s criminal warrants division.

The plot follows the saga of Tommy Losurdo, an aging deli worker, portrayed by Mike DiGiacinto, who was a major player in the New Jersey club scene in the 1990s. Sporting a receding hairline and an outdated sense of fashion, his glory days seem to be long behind him.

That is until he discovers his fiance, Stefi, played by Afroditi Kontos, has been cheating on him. Suddenly, Tommy is thrust back into a world he had abandoned.

LaBruno said the idea for the script was partly inspired by his older brothers, who were what he called “guidos” when he was growing up. “The movie’s about being comfortable in your own skin,” he said. “They were happy to be who they were.”

“The Last American Guido” was shot during the fall 2012 in numerous locations across the state. According to LaBruno, it was completed in only 15 days.

But the production was not without its setbacks. Hurricane Sandy hit with about three-quarters of the film completed, which forced LaBruno to replace several filming locations due to damage and loss of power. LaBruno even had to rework the script in several spots.

Shelley’s Market on Bergen Avenue in Jersey City, where LaBruno said 25 percent of the movie is filmed, was badly damaged, which left him scrambling for a practical substitute. In a stroke of luck, Maywood Marketplace in Maywood offered to let him use the store after business hours.

“It was grueling and stressful at times,” he said, “but you don’t get tired because you’re doing what you really like to do.”

While “The Last American Guido” is his first feature, it’s not LaBruno’s first foray into filmmaking. He previously wrote and directed two short films, “The Pope of Jersey City” in 2009 and “Business is Dead” in 2011, for which he won several awards at the Lighthouse International Film Festival and the Golden Door International Film Festival.

He said that he feels more comfortable behind the camera. “I haven’t even been in one of my own movies yet,” LaBruno said with a laugh.