The Ends Must Justify The Means In David Clevenger's STANDING GROUND

Filmed for $5,000 between Tampa Bay, Florida and within the Quad-Cities, the film represents a lesser-Christian themed project for Clevenger who stars as a martial arts teacher forced to come to grips with violating his own moral code if it can save his daughters life. That said, the film will aim to construct a darkly-toned character-driven tale with a positive message. And of course, the milk and cookies of it all will be Clevenger‘s approach to the action.

“I teach martial arts, and this one was brought to me by my instructor, who came up with the idea to do a modern ‘Kung Fu’ movie in a real-world setting,” Clevenger tells the Quad-City Times. “We wanted it to be ultra-realistic, so everything is in real time, and none of the film or the stunts are sped up to make them look faster than they really are, like most martial arts films. We wanted it to feel like a real-life martial arts story, to showcase the art in a different way, and I think it looks great.”

Standing Ground stars Clevenger with Doug Stephenson, Jeremy Lue and William Birtwell, with Grand Master Steve Lee Swift rounding out the principle cast.

You can learn more about the film at its official Facebook page where you may also subscribe. In the meantime, watch the trailer below and stick around for more news when it arises.

SYNOPSIS:

Ryder Lee’s philosophy is simple: Run from Violence. Avoid conflict at all costs! Only if your back is against the wall and you have nowhere to go…then you stand your ground and fight! Living this philosophy has always been easy. Ryder leads a simple life running his late-father’s Kung Fu school and taking care of his family. But when his daughter is diagnosed with cancer Ryder is unable to afford the lifesaving treatments that she needs. Out of options Ryder turns to Uncle Frankie, a loan shark with a powerful mafia family. Ryder is soon sucked into a world of Violence, corruption and greed. Using his lethal hand to hand combat skills to collect for the Mob, Ryder feels as if he is losing his family, his school and even his soul…and is left asking himself the question: Is it ok to do the wrong things even for the right reasons?