Lombardi is a Peruvian director, producer and screenwriter. In 1968, he moved to Argentina to enroll in the film school founded by Fernando Birri in Sante Fé. When the Argentinean government closed the school he returned to Peru and finished his studies in film directing. Due to the relatively small amount of film production in Peru he also studied journalism and wrote film critiques. He made his directing and screenwriting debut with the drama Muerte al amanecer (1977). Afterwards he made the thriller Muerte de un magnate (1980), drama Maruja en el infierno (1983), La ciudad y los perros (1985) based on Mario Vargas Llosa’s novel, the successful war drama In the Mouth of the Wolf (La boca del lobo, 1988), Caídos del cielo (1990) and Sin compasión (1994) based on Dostoyevsky’s Crime And Punishment taking place in modern-day Lima. He also directed the crime drama Bajo la piel (1996) and No se lo digas a nadie (1998), Pantaleón y las visitadoras (2000) and Tinta roja (2000) based on literary classics, and the political dramas Ojos que no ven (2003) and Mariposa negra (2006).