BIG BAD FILM FEST IV: WINGS OF DREAD And FIGHT AGAINST EVIL 3 Among NA Premieres, Michael Jai White In-Person, Tony Stella Gallery And More For 2026 Edition
Filmmakers Patrick R. Young and Powell Robinson are back in their fourth year gearing up for Big Bad Film Fest for its three-day run at the Look Dine-In Cinema in Glendale, California next month. The festival, which kicks off on August 21, firstly signaled fans and locals with a poster gallery attributed to the late Tony Stella, with pre-sales underway for festival passes back in June, and now things are in full-swing with a brand new line-up, as well as a poster for the fest’s 2026 edition created by Ali Shimhaq which you can view just above Wednesday’s press release.
The line-up below is perhaps one of the most impressive thusfar, host to six North American premieres led by Qin Pengfei’s Wings Of Dread starring co-helmer Ashton Chen opposite Iko Uwais, and bookended by Yang Bingjia’s Fight Against Evil 3 starring Xie Miao. The rest of the festival will see in-person honors and discussions with producer Ryan Santoso and actress/martial artist Livi Ciananta for the West Coast Premiere of Ikatan Darah, actor and martial arts star Michael Jai White for the 20th anniversary screening of Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, mangaka Shogo Horiuchi for the North American Premiere of director Ryusuke Kurahashi’s Match Mondo, director John Hyams for a special screening of Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, and much, much more.
To that end, I was also taken aback by the inclusion of the Crime Hunter trilogy which showed out for the crowd as part of the V-Cinema Focus strand of the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year. I’ve only seen the first installment as it is part of Arrow Video’s V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal collection which I enthused about last year in five parts. Masanori Sera is amazing in that flick and I think folks will get a kick out of what this trilogy brings to the table.
The same goes for the list of twenty shortfilms, a few of which I’ve already seen including Maryline Vo and Virak Thun’s Lost In Spice, Lorenz Hideyoshi’s Night Shift, Kent Lloyd’s Waterlogged, Kevin Barile’s The Mime, online fan favorite Shaolin Avengers from Andy Le and the Martial Club crew in their return to the festival since last year’s Gladiator Underground, and Eric Jacobus’s Bag Lady which is currently in toe for a feature film treatment you can read more about here. The rest are a mystery to yours truly, including Happy Cooking from debut director and Mad Cats star herself, Ayane. That one is a must-see, nonetheless.
Additionally, the festival otherwise continues a fruitful partnership between the festival and the Look Dine-In Cinema where Young and Robinson have also been curating a monthly spell of screenings this year for a number
Check out this year’s splendiferous new poster and read the announcement for all the particulars, and above all else, get those passes!
BIG BAD FILM FEST ANNOUNCES LINEUP WITH 6 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERES, UNSEEN VIDEO TREASURES, AND A GALLERY HONORING TONY STELLA
Wednesday, July 29th, 2026 — BIG BAD FILM FEST will celebrate its 2026 edition with an electrifying program of premieres, classics, never-seen oddities, and an all weekend art gallery dedicated to the works of late great poster artist Tony Stella. The celebration of action filmmaking old and new occurs from August 21st through August 23rd, 2026, returning to the LOOK Dine-In Cinema in Glendale, CA.
The festival website is now live with tickets on sale for the complete lineup of 11 features, 6 of which are North American Premieres, and 20 shorts ready to be discovered.
Fest co-founders Patrick R. Young and Powell Robinson on the 4th edition of the international action festival, “We’re beyond excited to present a diverse array of visions, voices, and violence. This year’s lineup focuses heavily on films that may never have made it to a big screen in North America. We believe action deserves to be big and be seen big.”
From recently uncovered V-Cinema gems to the underrated mastery of the American DTV scene, BIG BAD FILM FEST 2026 offers everything an action, genre, or film lover could want.
OPENING NIGHT EVENT: WINGS OF DREAD STARRING ASHTON CHEN & IKO UWAIS and
TONY STELLA: CROSSWAYS
The North American Premiere of Ashton Chen & Qin Pengfei’s raucous, mile high jolt of adrenaline kickstarts a weekend of action. Wings of Dread stars Ashton Chen as air police officer Gu Chaoyang as he encounters a hijacking crisis on his flight back to China. He must fight desperately to stop the hijacker, played by Iko Uwais (The Raid), as the life and death struggle unravels.
BIG BAD FILM FEST has also partnered with the estate of late great poster artist Tony Stella to present a gallery of Tony’s work throughout the festival weekend. The displays will include full-sized finalized work of Tony’s provided by Arrow Video, BWDR, and private collectors alongside original artwork and sketches collected from Tony’s studio. Archivists are in the process of sorting through over 30,000 works of art and this gallery will give attendees the chance to glimpse inside Tony’s process and studio, as well as give the opportunity to donate to Tony’s estate as they continue to make sure his family and art are taken care of.
GUESTS OF HONOR: IKATAN DARAH EXCELLENCE AND AMERICAN DTV VISIONARIES
The weekend will see an array of special Q&As. In the spotlight will be Ikatan Darah’s producer, Ryan Santoso, and star, Livi Ciananta, to celebrate their hard-hitting Indonesian action film from Uwais Pictures followed by a celebration of Michael Jai White’s career hosted by the Action 4 Everyone Podcast with White in person. Bringing his magnetic DTV masterpiece Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning will by director John Hyams, followed by a discussion with friend of the fest and prolific writer, Brandon Streussnig. Also joining the festival will be original Match Mondo manga creator Shogo Horiuchi!
As was the case in previous years, BIG BAD FILM FEST will also feature and highlight original pieces of writing from film journalists. This year will have original pieces from Jen Yamato, Valerie Complex, Brandon Streussnig, and Frankie Balboa.
CLOSING NIGHT EVENT: FIGHT AGAINST EVIL 3 + SHAOLIN AVENGERS
Closing out the blistering weekend is the North American premiere of Yang Bingja’s (Eye for an Eye 2) Fight Against Evil 3, starring the Furious’s Xie Miao. The action-comedy finds Li Hongqi (Miao), forced to travel for his wedding, but needing to team up with a local cop to rescue a girl from human traffickers, fighting criminals while racing against his wedding date. The film will be paired with Martial Club’s short film SHAOLIN AVENGERS starring Brian Le, in a spiritual Furious reunion, Andy Le, and DY Sao.
The lineup also includes plenty of films that action lovers will be thrilled to see on the big screen, including Eiji Uchida’s spin-off of the popular Round-Up series, Tokyo Burst: Crime City, Li Bingyuan’s Drunken Blade, Isaac Florentine’s UNDISPUTED II (complete with a Q&A with star Michael Jai White), Sidharta Tata’s Ikatan Darah, Ryusuke Kurahashi’s Match Monde (written by Baby Assassins helmer Yugo Sakamoto), and a special presentation of Toei’s Crime Hunter Trilogy.
2026 BIG BAD FILM FEST FEATURE LINEUP (Alphabetical Order):
Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage (1989)
Crime Hunter 2: Bullets of Betrayal (1989) | North American Premiere
Crime Hunter 3: Killing Bullet (1990) | North American Premiere
Dir. Toshimichi Ohkawa Starring: Masanori Sera
DRUNKEN BLADE | West Coast Premiere
Dir. Li Bingyuan Starring: Li Bingyuan, Sun Yiran
FIGHT AGAINST EVIL 3 | North American Premiere
Dir. Yang Bingjia Starring: Xie Miao, Diana Lin Xiaojie, Cui Zhijia
IKATAN DARAH | West Coast Premiere | Q&A w/ Livi Ciananta & Ryan Santoso
Dir. Sidharta Tata Starring: Livi Ciananta, Derby Romero, Ismi Melinda
MATCH MONDE | North American Premiere | Q&A w/ Shogo Horiuchi
Dir. Ryûsuke Kurahashi Starring: Daigo Kotaro, Katsuki Masayoshi, Kawasaki Honoka
TOKYO BURST: CRIME CITY | North American Premiere
Dir. Eiji Uchida Starring: Koshi Mizukami, U-Know Yunho, and Uhm Ki-Joon
UNDISPUTED II | 20th Anniversary Screening | Q&A w/ Michael Jai White
Hosted by the Action 4 Everyone Podcast
Dir. Isaac Florentine Starring: Michael Jai White, Scott Adkins
UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING | Q&A w/ John Hyams
Dir. John Hyams Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Dolph Lundgren
WINGS OF DREAD | North American Premiere
Dir. Ashton Chen, Qin Pengei Starring: Ashton Chen, Iko Uwais, Qu Jingjing
BIG BAD FILM FEST 2026 SHORTS LINEUP (Alphabetical Order):
Bag Lady | dir. Eric Jacobus
Bangkok Dragons | dir. Barret Walter Coates
Check Please | dir. Shane Chung
Guard | dir. Jose Escorcia
Happy Cooking | dir. Ayane
Hunted | dir. Matt Routledge
Kicks of Fury | dir. Euri Sakamoto
Knuckles | dir. Jay Curtis Miller
Lost in Spice | dir. Maryline VO, Virak THUN
The Mime | dir. Kevin Barile
Mind, Body, & Soul | dir. Davidson Corona
Night Shift | dir. Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe
One Last Job | dir. Spencer Schwendiman
Shaolin Avengers | dir. Andy Le
Stronghold | dir. Reginald Johnson
TCG | dir. Jeremie Earp
Time | dir. Bulent Ozlarusso
Wakashu | dir. Jill Gillespie
Waterlogged | dir. Kent. Lloyd
We Are All Monsters | dir. James Newman
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
