fight choreography
Around The Web: Indie Action Arms Itself In KNIFE FIGHT And KING OF STICKS
Action actor and stuntman Gui Da Silva returns back to the screen for his latest performance in the new shortfilm, Knife Fight. The shortfilm is Da Silva‘s latest (….ahem…) stab at weapons’ choreography opposite fellow actor and stuntman James Young, exquisitely arranged once again by LBP Stunts Chicago’s own Emmanuel Manzanares, who previously directed Da Silva in the stellar pistol-whip action short, Extraction.
Check Out This Bloody Set Photo From THE DEAD LANDS
The #DeadLandsMovie crew are having a bloody good time in New Zealand pic.twitter.com/Z8z5LULG6A
— XYZ Films (@XYZFilms) January 9, 2014
XYZ Films took to Twitter this week to share a new photo above, updating the progress on the New Zealand filming of director Toa Fraser‘s coming-of-age period revenge epic, The Dead Lands. A little help from XYZ executive Simon de Bruyn clarifies the item in the picture is called a “patu parāoa”, one of several types of patu representing the ancient weaponry of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Further Googling details that this particular kind of weapon, carved from whalebone, would be used to bludgeon an enemy’s head, or thrust into the ribs or jaw.
Weaponry, of course, is one of several elements that will be emphasized in depicting an ancient style of Maori martial arts in Fraser‘s new film, with the aid of stunt coordinator Steve McQuillan (Spartacus, The Warrior’s Way, The Lord Of The Rings). XYZ Films is reportedly playing a key role with Fraser, producers Matthew Metcalfe and screenwriter Glenn Standring, and McQuillan, to help deliver and introduce the style of Maori hand-to-hand fighting in the same fashion that helped launch director Gareth Evans and action star Iko Uwais into the global spotlight with the success of The Raid: Redemption and its forthcoming sequel in March, The Raid 2: Berandal.
Recently wrapped from filming with worldwide sales rights already attributed to XYZ Films for most territories, The Dead Lands centers around the story of a chieftain’s teenage son, the sole survivor of the traitorous slaughter of his family and entire tribe, who journeys to a forbidden and feared land to seek the reluctant aid of its keeper, a mysterious “warrior”, to help avenge his people and bring peace and honor to their souls. James Rolleston stars along with Lawrence Makoare, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Xavier Horan, George Henare and Rena Owen.
Stay tuned for more
Zero Gravity's Andrew Suleiman Features Choreography In New Featurette For YOU CAN'T HEAR ME/YOU CAN'T SEE ME
The team for You Can’t Hear Me/You Can’t See Me, with Andrew Suleiman (left) and Verdy Bhawanta (right) on the bottom.
Upon discovering the world of independent action cinema for myself about a decade ago, I learned who actor, writer, martial artist and stunt coordinator Andrew Suleiman (pictured above, bottom row on the left) when I saw him in a 2004 project for Zero Gravity with actor Larry Leong titled Cha Cha Chinaman. From then on, Suleiman became a name I never let go of – even as my computer burned out back in 2008 and I was left to endure life without the internet for a few years.
Well, earlier today, I had the opportunity to acquaint myself with Suleiman in a fun, lively chat about his happenings, his career and what he’s up to now. And though many of us haven’t heard from the team as a whole, it doesn’t mean that its members aren’t staying busy in the field in one form or another. The same goes for Suleiman who has been back home in Indonesia working on his career, in addition to building up his credentials and craft as an actor, writer and martial arts performer with a number of projects in mind, including his latest ambitions for the upcoming Holy Bastards English-language action comedy short, You Can’t Hear Me/You Can’t See Me.
Imagine, if you will, a story of a blind guitar-playing hipster songstress who invites two men over for a small Christmas gathering-one, a blind former soldier/happy ending masseur, and the other, a perverted mute cat-burglar. A good time is had by all that evening until suddenly the two spot a small horde of hooded members of the occult set on kidnapping the very same woman. Of course, this must not be allowed to happen, and our two heroes must leap into action to save their beautiful female host from certain harm.
This is the project Suleiman is intending to approach with ample funding for a hopeful transition from a short proof-of-concept filmed back in February of last year, to a full feature-length production which also puts rising martial arts star and Capoiera maestro Verdy Bhawanta back on the map after starring in Pirate Brothers (a.k.a. Mortal Enemies) back in 2011 with actor Robin Shou. And not to rub it in, but I was fortunate to screen the proof-of-concept for myself today, and it is awesome!
While I cannot show you the actual proof-of-concept, what I can show you is the newly unveiled pre-viz stunt featurette now available for viewng on YouTube, featuring Suleiman and Bhawanta, the stunt team and choreographers Andry Ganda and Ivan Chen. With any luck however, the next few weeks of patience will grant us the opportunity to view the spectacular short that martial arts cinema fans will enjoy.
As a noteworthy mention, You Can’t Hear Me/You Can’t See Me is directed by Dicky Fa and Awi Suryadi, the latter who just wrapped up the Fall 2013 filming of his new racing action thriller, Street Society, set for release later this year with the trailer set to premiere this Friday on Twitchfilm. In the meantime, more news awaits this year as Suleiman looks forward to more projects, including a possible role in director Timo Tjahjanto’s The Night Comes For Us, and a reunion with several Zero Gravity members for future gigs, one of which could very likely see Bhawanta go toe-to-toe with fellow actor and Capoiera impressario, Lateef Crowder Dos Santos (Tom Yum Goong, Tekken).
Here’s to the best for Suleiman as the release of his new proof-of-concept short draws near. Check out training featurette below, and stay tuned for more info.
Bhawanta‘s film, Mortal Enemies, will release in North America on DVD and Blu-Ray on February 18, 2014.
AROUND THE WEB: Christmas Edition
It’s been a vivacious year for independent action cinema, and likely moreso than what I can keep up with, with so many teams out there in the world looking to create inspired and ambitious short films and projects to get their content circulating. And today, I have at least four new clips for what I am dubbing as this year’s Christmas Day edition of my Around The Web series, with two of the clips attributed to the holiday season.
The first two come straight from Italy, by way of two teams – the first being D-Unit’s new fan-driven shortfilm, Gift Revenge: A Star Wars Christmas Special featuring actors Loris Ripamonti and Mirco Cazzol. The piece is directed and edited by Cristoforo Cervino, with whom all three are currently working on a recently aired YouTube action webseries titled C9DES (Codes) – click the tags at the bottom of the article to learn more.
Check out Gift Revenge in the following embed, and special thanks to Ripamonti for sharing this little gem.
The second clip comes courtesy of Daniele Balconi who appears as his own rendition of Santa Claus in Stunt Claus: All Santa Wants For Christmas Is Peace. This little comedic holiday spoof doesn’t come with subtitles as it is entirely in Italian. However you get the basic idea of just what is happening – four thugs holding a rather Santa hostage, until Santa gets the upper hand and fights his way out. [UPDATE] The clip is now available with subtitles.
It’s a funny clip and I’m sure you will enjoy it. Alex Riva, Valerio Fioretti, Fabio Argentino and Klaudio Muça also star. Special thanks to Balconi for sharing this with our page, and for subscribing to Film Combat Syndicate.
The next two clips are non-holiday oriented, but I felt they deserved sharing as fitting additions to today’s Christmas article here; The next following clip in the next comes courtesy of the Serbia-based Team 360 and its members Dalibor Ranđelović Kraka, Nemanja Sekulić and Mirodrag Radulaški, and the team behind their first fight clip from the summer titled Fight For No Reason.
Ironically this not the first time I have seen a short action film with this particular title in the last ten years I have been following independent action cinema. But considering what you see in the short film, the title seems fitting – two guys going at it for no apparent reason whatsoever, leading to a silly and hilarious conclusion. It’s a fun piece created by a small group of people who have a total of well over thirty years in various styles of martial arts training and parkour, and are just now starting out.
Check it out below, and special thanks to Kraka for posting this on our Facebook page.
Last but not least, the fourth following short piece titled Sparring At Chimosa, features two of Germany’s most prominent film stunt professionals, Niklas Kinzel and Kai Fung Rieck. The clip was shot by Tolga Degirmen, and I came across this in my Facebook feed, so hopefully I can learn more about these guys in the near future. In the meantime, check out their latest clip below!
Subscribe to each and everyone of these channels for more exciting content. You can also find links to Facebook and Twitter in the description of the first two clips.
Stay tuned to Film Combat Syndicate as we continue to introduce quality content from some of today’s aspiring young action performers.
Mandy Bhari Fights Her Way Out Of Captivity In ROUGH HOUSE (2012)
Mandy Bhari has been practicing martial arts for over 25 years. She co-owns and operates the Hybrid Academy Of Martial Arts in Glasgow where students practice physical fitness, learn self-defense and ultimately train in the same field of martial arts philosophy founded on the inspiring principles founded by the late iconic martial arts legend and Jeet Kune Do founder, Bruce Lee, of whom Mandy is also a devoted fan. Having just recently gotten back into acting in the last few years, Mandy is also an accomplished stuntwoman and actress who applies her versatility while engaging in screenfighting workshops with her students, choreographing and executing skits, and even shooting shortfilms.
DARDREX Takes Its New Style UNDERGROUND
Independent action film company Dardrex Productions debut its most recent experimental short film called Test Fight: Underground. The video clip illustrates actors Darren Holmquist and C.J. Thoms, illustrating the company’s latest efforts to deviate from its previous observances of Hong Kong-stylized action scenes, and into a newer, more brutal, grounded-in-reality style of fight choreography and stuntwork (otherwise known as the “Dardrex New Style”) to signify Dardrex Productions as a pivotal milestone in evolving the independent action film industry since their video announcement late last year.