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The British are Coming! The UK goes Hong Kong as the Seni Film Festival premieres the
Best of British Independent Martial Arts Movies.
Fighters Inc, is proud to present the third ‘Fighting Spirit’ Film Festival, the only UK movie showcase dedicated to martial arts cinema. Across its first two years the festival premiered the international hit movies ‘District 13’, Tony Jaa’s ‘Warrior King’, Donnie Yen’s latest, ‘Dragon Tiger Gate’, the internationally acclaimed Korean fight-fest ‘City of Violence’ and Hollywood veteran Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson’s latest sci-fi action opus ‘The Last Sentinel’. This year, whilst still retaining the International flavour, Seni is also proud to promote home-grown talent with the first public showings of three ambitious UK movies, ‘Sucker Punch’, ‘Underground’ and ’10 Dead Men’, highlighting the fact that when it comes to action, we in the UK can mix it with the best of them!
Also managing to sneak in under a cloud of smoke are four wicked Ninja movies, old and new, as we celebrate the enduring cult of the ninja including our very first manga release Naruto and the pilot for the Master Ninja featuring the ultimate ninja himself Sho Kosugi and directed by ‘Enter the Dragon’s’ Robert Clouse.
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| Saturday 26th April |
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10 Dead Men (2007)
Screening: 10.00am Q&A 11.30am
Duration: 90 mins
‘Sin City’ meets ‘The Punisher’ in this all action high definition independent British feature film from the team that brought you the cult UK martial arts movie ‘Left for Dead’.
Betrayed whilst repaying an old blood debt, and left to die, Ryan (Brendan Carr) returns to enact a violent, bloody revenge on the ten men who killed his girlfriend and forced him back into a life he thought he’d left behind years ago. No bad deed goes unpunished. Ten men took his life away. Now Ten Men Will Pay! Featuring a host of the UK’s best fight/ stunt talent, ‘Ten Dead Men’ creates some of the most action packed, explosive scenes ever produced for an independent British film. Featured stars include Silvio Simac (DOA), Terry Stone (Rise of the Foot Soldier), Lee Latchford Evans (Steps) and Pooja Shah (Eastenders)
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Bruce Lee Foundation
Q&A: 12.00pm
Duration: 60 mins
The panel will be discussing all things Bruce Lee from his jeet kune do, to his personal training regime and philosophy and of course his film career, from the personal perspective of family and co-stars such as Linda and Shannon Lee and Bob Wall from 'Enter the Dragon'. |
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Return of the deadly blade (1981)
Screening: Saturday 26th 1.00pm
Duration: 83 mins
As with ‘Ninja in Ancient China’, this is a rarely seen movie and features two of the Shaw Brothers favoured actors, Lo Lieh and David Chiang.
After a long absence, a martial arts master makes a surprise comeback, leaving the disciples to wonder... is he really who he says he is? Soon, secrets begin to surface leaving the students no choice but to stop this Master at all costs. Wire work and special effects are the order of the day in a film also known as ‘Shaolin Fighters versus Ninja’ with a scene stealing performance by Japanese star Yauaki Kurata as the brilliantly monickered ‘Lonely Winner’. Watch also for a brief cameo from legendary kicker Hwang Jang Lee.
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Sucker Punch (2007)
Screening: Saturday 26th 2.45pm Q&A: 4.15pm
Duration: 92 mins
Action classic ‘Hard Times’ (Charles Bronson) meets ‘Only Fools and Horses’ in this back-street brawling movie with thrills, spills and a lot of laughs.
The story of a hustler looking to gain revenge on a top fight promoter, ‘Sucker Punch’ sees lowlife loser Harley (Danny John Jules) form a fragile partnership with enigmatic fighter Buchinsky (Gordon Alexander) to topple fight baron Maitland (Ian Freeman) in this fast-paced action comedy. With gritty, realistic fights throughout, ‘Sucker Punch’ features one of the most brutal final fights in UK Cinema history in a film that superbly balances the action and comedy elements. Be the first to say you saw it coming!
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Naruto : Ninja Clash in the land of snow (2006)
Screening: Saturday 26th 5.00pm
Duration: 82 mins + Naruto unleashed 30 mins
Naruto is now one of the most popular and successful manga and anime properties and the manga version has become one of the best selling and most popular graphic novels.
The general storyline of both the Naruto manga and animated series depict the adventures of a young boy named Uzumaki Naruto who trains to become a ninja. Naruto, cursed with the spirit of the nine-tailed fox demon sealed within his body. Through the adventures, the young ninja learns the importance of friendship, teamwork, loyalty, hard work, creativity, ingenuity, and right vs. wrong. This is the acclaimed full length feature that has screened theatrically in the United States and Japan.
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| Sunday 27th April |
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Underground (2007)
Screening: Sunday 27th 10.00am Q&A 11.30am
Duration: 87 mins
‘Underground’ is a martial arts extravaganza in the vein of ‘Bloodsport’ and the recently released ‘The Condemned’ as twelve fighters compete in an illegal underground tournament.
The prize is £500,000 and the fighters come from a variety of backgrounds and each has their own reason for competing in this gruelling no holds barred competition but there can be only one winner! Look out for British Freestyle legend Nathan ‘The Megatron’ Lewis in his first leading role alongside genre veterans Glen Salvage, Joey Ansah (fresh from ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’) and Mark Strange (‘Medallion’, ‘Twins Effect’) in this fast-paced and intense fight-fest. |
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Bruce Lee Foundation
Q&A: 12.00pm
Duration: 60 mins
The panel will be discussing all things Bruce Lee from his jeet kune do, to his personal training regime and philosophy and of course his film career, from the personal perspective of family and co-stars such as Linda and Shannon Lee and Bob Wall from 'Enter the Dragon'. |
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Ninja in Ancient China (1989)
Screening: Sunday 27th 1.15pm
Duration: 92 mins
This is a rare opportunity to see what is widely regarded as a forgotten film from famous Shaw Brothers director Chang Cheh.
Shaw Brothers legend Chang Cheh (One Armed Swordsman) delivers a classic ‘old school’ style kung fu flick, his final film in fact, filled with intrigue, high emotion and many blistering fight sequences, featuring action choreography by ‘Kung Fu Hustle’s Tung Chi Hua. When tragedy befalls Taoist master Yu at the hands of power hungry general Suen Cheuk, the Taoist master’s students, the Five Element Ninja, decide that revenge is their only option. However, if they are to have their vengeance they must first infiltrate the inner circle of the general’s closest allies. This film has only just resurfaced and has never previously been available in the UK, so is a must for die-hard ninja/old school movies.
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Furor (2007)
Screening: Sunday 27th 3.15pm Q&A 4.30pm
Duration: 80 mins
When an Angel falls, a Demon rises-Furor is an action thriller, with inspiration from ‘Kill Bill’, ‘The Crow’ and ‘Seven’, as produced by NB Pictures.
In ‘Furor’ Zara Phythian plays Emily Grimes, a pillar of the community who falls foul of a vicious gang, headed by William Lung (Rob Ho), with an attack so vicious it leaves Emily recovering in a barbaric mental institution. The passage of time ignites flashbacks, which serves as a catalyst for Emily's ever-increasing menu of vengeance for those who caused her pain and anguish. To create the fight scenes NB Pictures called upon Fight Choreographers, George and Mandy Johnstone of Total Combat to draw elements from Silat, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Keysi Fighting Method, Jeet Kune Do and Submission Wrestling.
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