During the Ming Dynasty, a secret agent of the emperor’s court is betrayed and then hunted down by his former colleagues. Starring martial arts legends Donnie Yen (IP MAN) and Sammo Hung (DRAGONS FOREVER), 14 BLADES was recently nominated for “Best Action Choreography” at the 2010 Hong Kong Film Awards.
An official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, BESURO is the emotional true of the legendary capoeira fighter from Bahia, who was rumored to fly and leads an uprising of slaves to gain their freedom.
SPECIAL RETROSPECTIVE
Panna Rittikrai, martial arts choreographer of Tony Jaa’s ONG BAK films, directed this insanely fun stunt extravaganza about a small village overtaken by terrorists that fights back in spectacular style. This rare U.S. theatrical screening is part of ActionFest’s Shomongkolfilm Retrospective (Courtesy of Dragon Dynasty)
CHUCK NORRIS RETROSPECTIVE
Chuck Norris teams with brother Aaron Norris (co-founder of ActionFest) for the third film in the MISSING IN ACTION series, where Col. James Braddock goes back to Vietnam to rescue his Amer-Asian son in this little-seen sequel, Chuck’s personal favorite of the series.
Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds, 300), Dominic West (300, The Wire), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace, Hitman) star in this sword and sandal epic about the Ninth Roman Legion who fight for their survival in the hostile North England territory ruled by the infamous Pict warriors. Film is directed by Neil Marshall (The Descent, Dog Soldiers).
CHUCK NORRIS RETROSPECTIVE
Chuck Norris’ most critically acclaimed film cast him as Chicago cop Eddie Cusack, who battles mobsters and corrupt cops in this outstanding police thriller from director Andrew Davis (THE FUGITIVE)
From director Pieter Van Hess (LEFT BANK), DIRTY MIND tells the story of a meek and mild technician who suffers an injury on a film set and emerges as the suave and fearless “Tony T”, who sets out to become a legendary stuntman in an effort to escape his loser past.
Two years have passed since elite police officer Damien Tomasso (Cyril Raffaelli) teamed up with reformed vigilante Leito (parkour originator David Belle) to save the notorious District 13, a racially charged ghetto populated by violent drug dealing gangs and vicious killers. With bone crunching fights and death defying leaps, this adrenaline charged sequel takes the groundbreaking parkour action from DISTRICT B13 to thrilling new heights. (Courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
The only martial arts extravaganza shot entirely on location in Asheville, NC, GOLDEN BLADE III is an affectionate spoof of the classic Shaw Brothers films of the 1970s, right down to the cheap FX and bad dubbing.
Two-time Academy Award-winner Michael Caine returns to the action milieu of his legendary film GET CARTER as Harry Brown, a widowed and retired military man looking to live out the rest of his days in peace, but forced to take up arms again when his only friend is murdered by a local gang. (Courtesy of Samuel, Goldwyn Films)
Chilean martial arts star Marko Zaror (KILTRO; MIRAGEMAN) returns to the screen as the tough-as-nails hitman Mandrill, whose latest contract finally leads him to the man responsible for the murder of his parents.
Yuda, a young man from the Indonesian countryside must undergo Merantau, a traditional rite into manhood where he must leave home and find his place in the world. But upon his arrival in Jakarta he finds himself thrust into the world of human slave trading, with only his Silat skills to help him survive. (Courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
Martial arts superstar Tony Jaa stars in and directs this epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past. Featuring a huge cast and hordes of elephants, this prequel takes Jaa’s skills to the next level, showcasing him as a master of a wide range of martial arts styles – while proving him to be a promising director as well. Screened as part of ActionFest’s Shomongkolfilm Retrospective (Courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
Zack Galifanakis, Rob Corddry, Ving Rhames, and Emile De Raven star in this new comedy thriller about two teams of assassins locked in an underground facility, each out to discover who murdered their boss before they’re all offed. (Courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment)
A special presentation of the new short film from acclaimed director Tony Stone (SEVERED WAYS: THE NORSE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA) in collaboration with singer and guitarist Melissa Auf Der Maur (formerly of Hole). A fantasy world spawned from sound. Three time periods and three narratives, one connection-blood. At the center of this life force is the heart.
When their best friend is in need of a heart transplant, a plucky group of kids band together against a group of terrorists who have seized the hospital moments before their friend’s surgery. This outrageously fun martial arts adventure was produced by the same team behind ONG BAK and THE PROTECTOR.
CHOCOLATE’s JeeJa Yanin returns to fight off a vicious band of kidnappers with the help of a new form of Muay Thai that combines martial arts and hip hop dance moves!
A new feature from the demented imagination of director Noboru Iguchi, the man who brought the world the cult sensation MACHINE GIRL. In modern-day Japan, Kikue and Yoshie, two sisters in geisha training are kidnapped and forced into the shadowy world of the Kageno Corporation, a steel company that uses their massive Geisha Army and a pair of seemingly supernatural, bikini-clad female assassins as a front for a terrorist organization bent on returning Japan to a period of more traditional values. (Courtesy of Funimation Entertainment)
South Korea’s smash hit finally hits the U.S.! A South Korean western inspired by Sergio Leone’s classic THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY, WEIRD stars Song Kang-Ho (THE HOST) as one of a group of desperate gunslingers in 1930’s Manchuria after a priceless treasure map. (Courtesy of IFC Films)
Named one of the 10 best films of 2009 by Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News, this acclaimed Australian thriller tells the story of a man trapped in a loveless marriage who carries on an affair with a mysterious woman with a dangerous husband. (Courtesy of Apparition)
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin stars as an FBI agent out to find a material witness to a top-secret investigation. (Courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment)
ActionFest livens things up with comedy, action and horror, as two country bumpkins are mistaken for serial killers by a group of clueless college kids in this midnight smash hit of the Sundance and SXSW film festivals.
Modern martial arts masters Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror (MANDRILL) square off in this third chapter of the popular prison boxing series, as champion fighter Uri Boyka (Adkins) is transferred to a Ukraine prison to fight in the first prison fighting tournament, where the winner is granted freedom and the loser… death!
BRONSON director Nicholas Winding Refn teams with CASINO ROYALE star Mads Mikkelsen for this historical epic about Norse warriors in the year 1000 A.D. (Courtesy of IFC Films)
