fma

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THE HIT LIST: October 16, 2017

I’m going through a little sleep deprivation while I write this so I hope you all enjoy this latest installment of The Hit List until then. My weekend was definitely at least half-good and you can visit my weekend posts over at my Instagram to see what’s up.

As for here, we kick off the Hit List with the necessary appetizer of stunt and training reels from some of today’s top and up-and-coming in stunt performance. Ramping things up is a cool new highlight reel from this year’s events at Oia for the seven year-strong Red Bull Art Of Motion competiton.

Following that is a barrage of badass new stunt reels courtesy of Talyn Edelson, Darin Hicks, Krystle Martin, Ross Kohnstam, Gabriela Kostadinova, Cameron Brown, Angela Lynn, John Ternavis, Rissa Kilar, Cheech Vitale, Andi Norris and stunt coordinator Jae Greene.

I don’t have anything to promote in terms of teasers and trailers but I do have this amazing shortfilm by Shaun Charney. It’s the most serious action short you will ever see in all its indie action glory with Nicole Mae Martin, Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez and Sayaka Pereira front in center as three of the most serious screenfighters you will ever see in all your action movie fandom.

This action short is so seriously done by the ever-so seriously serious Charney that by just over three minutes in, you’ll be so caught up in the seriousness of it all that you will simply quit everything just as these people did, ensuing from a three-minute FMA battle royale into a six-minute blooper reel with three amazing girls being amazing. And girly. With sticks. Seriously. Watch.

Winding down the Hit List is a mix of some quick short action gems from around the web with stunt players Jesper Bergstroem and Livia Wistmar roughing it up for viewers followed by ScrewAttack’s newest Death Battle offering with iconic antagonists Vegeta and General Zod. Filmmaker Eskindir Tesfay strikes a chord for self-defense with former champion Jörg Gantert in Black Belt for Movie-Do. Jon Alagoa pays his tribute to live-action fandom with Yakuza Kiwami, inspired by PS4 remake of Sega IP, Ryū ga Gotoku (Like A Dragon) while Art School Dropouts sets forth their latest First-Episode push to attain the crowdfunding they need to finalize inspired webseries The Forgotten Kingdom: A Kung Fu LARP Story, and Ballistic Blade Entertainment wields its own fandom with their latest fantasy action short, New Shannara Chronicles.

Last and far from least is a quality pick from sibling directing duo Rajeev and Elan Dassani titled Seam, currently hosted on the CGBros YouTube channel. The setting itself is an immensely beautiful choice for a story host to the lives of a fugitive couple on the run for the run for their lives in a future where tenuous peace between man and machine all but tilts dangerously to its end.

Khaled al Ghwari and actress Rakeen Saad star with The Mummy and The Mummy Returns co-star Oded Fehr in this stunning little project that bodes with as much compelling, emotive fervor as it does with its ambitious offering to sci-fi action and romance.

Enjoy the hits!

If you want some more action, last week’s entries are still pretty feasible so feel free to check it out if you fancy it. Follow the channels and support these creatives and SHARE the Hit List with friends if you wish to see more genuine action and storytelling from hungry artists and entertainers. More importantly, if you or someone you know has a quality project or stunt reel that needs extra eyes, send it to filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com and we’ll be glad to take a look at it ourselves!

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Will Yick Delivers Espionage, Danger And Action Chops In The New Series Trailer, DISAVOWED

A little slice of intrigue, a dash of danger and a touch of deadly hand-to-hand combat can make for nice little online gem, particularly arriving soon in the form of independent filmmaker and actor Will Yick‘s new webseries, Disavowed. A purveyor of Filipino martial arts for six years, the series is an inspired product by Yick who wanted to incorporate comprehensive storytelling and acting with his own personal knowledge of military, having served both in the Navy and Army.

Yick also directed, produced, edited, co-wrote and designed action sequences for the new series which he says will be much more character driven than some of his previous work. “I didn’t want to oversaturate the series with too much action this time around.” he says. “My goal was to have a balance of drama, plots and sub-plots, and enough action to get people interested, although I won’t always use this formula always because I love action. So, in the future, I will definitely incorporate more action.”.

Yick has a few other surprises in store for indie action fans this year with several projects to come, while Disavowed finishes production on just a few more episodes left to its 19-episode slate – each episode ranging from two-to-five minutes upon its upcoming air date. To keep track of the series, head over and subscribe to the official Facebook page until then. In the meantime, watch the new series trailer and stick around for more info. 

Loyalties will be tested within a government agency as the lines between right and wrong become blurred.

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Sharpen Your View With New Pics From THE BLADED HAND 2

Every now and then, a documentary comes along that inspires some reflection and changes the way you view a specific topic. For martial arts enthusiasts, such a documentary can be found in the recently released film, The Bladed Hand, a critically acclaimed and intricate retrospective into the world of the Filipino Martial Arts, hosting an eclectic array of interviews with fight professors and martial arts masters, as well as stuntmen and fight choreographers for film and television.

The film became a huge success upon its DVD and Vimeo VoD release last year since earning its praise with several screenings back in 2012, so much so that a sequel is currently underway as of November last year, with writing and producing trio, Jay Ignacio, Kent Vives and actor and stuntman Sonny Sison (Broken Path, The Lackey, Godzilla), back on board to bring the next film to life. And with a large handful of interviews already done with at least 20 more subjects to go, Sison took to his Facebook group to share a few recent photos with former Navy SEAL Chris Carraci, who will no doubt be featured along with his bladed weapon collection in the new film which could arrive later this year or in 2015. Check them about below:

We’ll keep you posted about the new film in the months ahead. In the meantime, The Bladed Hand is already available for rental and purchase on Vimeo and Amazon. Watch the trailer below, and to keep close to what’s happening for The Bladed Hand 2, feel free to join the official Facebook group.

The Bladed Hand – Trailer from ShowVIS LLC on Vimeo.

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FMA Takes Center Stage In The New LBP Short, BAHAD

It was back in February that I got to acquaint myself with actor and stuntman Bryan Sloyer who mentioned a few projects he was working on this year. One of those projects in particular would evidently include fellow action actor Jerry Quill and resident independent filmmaker and action director Emmanuel Manzanares for their latest collaborative short test fight effort, Bahad.

The title itself carries several derivative meanings in a few languages, including Hebrew, and especially in Cebuano dialect. In this particular instance, for indie action fans, it simply earns the title meaning “Duel”, which is what it is — a breakneck, fast paced cinematic clash between two Eskrimadors challenging each other to test the limits of their skills. Bahad is also a reunion project after last year’s collaboration for The Fixer, as well  as a concept introduced by Sloyer who also happens to be a purveyor of Filipino martial arts himself.

The result is what you see below, and as you can see, the concept definitely works as another addition to the LBP brand of action, as well as action in general. And considering how long and how prevalent Filipino martial arts fight choreography has been in many films over the years in some form or another, (i.e. Enter The Dragon, Out For Justice, The Perfect Weapon, S.P.L., I, Frankenstein, The Raid, etc.), I personally feel there is still tons of potential ways to explore and observe FMA in a very cinematic, raw and entertaining fashion for today’s audiences.

Creativity never dies. And Bahad is a noteworthy reminder of exactly that.

Watch and enjoy, and subcribe to LBP Stunts Chicago to keep up with their work!

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Christian Paolo Lat Is A One-Man Stickfighting Army In The New Shortfilm Trailer For ESKRIMADOR

Filipino martial arts have always been a tried and true application to martial arts action cinema, and such happens the case with the latest trailer for independent filmmaker Jelani Kim L. Maniago‘s upcoming dramatic action short, Eskrimador. Starring Chrisrian Paolo Lat, the new project started about a month and a half ago in collaboration with Maniago, as well as stuntfighter, performer and fight choreographer Eulver Presto, and a handful of other students from from the International Academy Of Film & Television near the city of Cebu.

Not much is known about the plot here, but based on this week’s new trailer, Eskrimador could very well be one more treat to enjoy from the online action community. One guy armed with two Escrima batons taking on five skilled guys armed with similar knowledge on martial arts weaponry? I’m down with it. And with any luck, we will see more of it as time goes on.

Take a look and stay tuned for more ahead!

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Michelle Martins And Bryan Sloyer Go Head-To-Head In LBP's Latest Fight Demo

Fans and followers of independent action and Film Combat Syndicate readers might remember industry stuntwoman Michelle Alvarado Martins from her previous gig with filmmaker and stunt coordinator Geo Corvera on his first online shortfilm for the new year titled Triumph. Well, this week, Martins continues to expand on her craft, showcasing her screenfighting talents for the first time with independent filmmaker and LBP Stunts Chicago founding member Emmanuel Manzanares and fellow stuntman Bryan Sloyer on a new fight demo now available for viewing on the official LBP Stunts YouTube channel.

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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.

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