TWISTING TIGER: Joseph Le’s Karmic Crime Tale Of Kung Fu And Redemption Now Online
Actor and filmmaker Joseph Le is already less than a week away from collaborating on another crowdfunded project, and in light of this, he’s kicking things off with the online release of his latest shortfilm, Twisting Tiger.
Le directs from a script by Nick Hoang, with an inspired kung fu drama based on the true stories of its cast, including actor, stunt performer and Shaolin Kung Fu disciple Tarrell Kota Bullock, who’s done several shortfilm projects and even performed for Cirque du Soleil from 2019 through 2020. The project also marks Bullock’s second collaboration with Le since 2019’s “Afro Samurai Champloo”.
Bullock plays T, a former gangster coping with PTSD while living sworn to a vow of non-violence, as he’s confronted by the violent and harrowing realities of life in the hood when one of his students is compelled to do the unthinkable in an effort to show strength against a rival gang. According to the shortfilm’s description, Le bills the project as an effort to tell a “uniquely personal story about forgiveness and karma,” whilst shedding light on “the shared struggle between the Black and Asian community.”
This one brings a much more intense delivery than a lot of the more comedy-driven pieces, which also makes room for Le to showcase his burgeoning flair for more dramatic cinema; He certainly broadened his horizons a bit with the 2020 spoof, “Mulan: An East Side Story”, on top of showcasing his own brand of shrewd action design and performance in numerous shortfilm projects.
Twisting Tiger has already gotten some festival attention, which certainly paves a greater way for Bullock, who does well for himself in this humble little half-hour experiment in American kung fu cinema, and having just relocated to Los Angeles in the past month, I’m hoping his closer proximity to the industry with help raise his profile much more going forward.
His latest action and stunt reel alone speaks volumes of his prowess, as well as any number of his posts on social media. For a more expansive observation, peep Twisting Tiger in the player below.
Also starring are Brandon H. Lee, Smitty Chai and Brandon Soo Hoo, along with Dominique Smith, Devin White, David Dang and Alethea Spencer.
Twisting Tiger is produced by Amanda Tran and exec produced by Le alongside Alan Dang, Vinh Le and Yong Hyeok Lee. Joining the director who also shepherds and designs the action is Armand Rabanal as fight coordinator, with signature action stylings by Martial Club’s Andy Le and Brian Le (Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Paper Tigers).
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!