COUNTDOWN TO ACTIONFEST: 6 Days to Go

6 days to ActionFest and the lineup has been announced (sorta).

While the festival is still keeping two screenings secret (EUROCRIME? HAYWIRE? European cut of REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS?) the remaining films have been announced.

Dragon Eyes (North American premiere with star Cung Le in attendance!)
Director: John Hyams. USA. MMA superstar Cung Le, Jean Claude Van Damme and Peter Weller star in this modern version of Akira Kurosawa’s classic Yojimbo.

A Gang Story (Regional Premiere)
Director: Olivier Marchal. France. A look back at one of France’s most notorious crime syndicates, reminiscent of The Godfather and Heat.

I Declare War (Work-In-Progress screening)
Director: Simon Lapeyre & Robert Wilson. Canada. Stand By Me meets Full Metal Jacket when two groups of 13-year old friends play “war” in a local forest. It’s all fun and games until things get out of hand as bullies, crushes, and popularity contests all come into play on the battlefield.

Manborg (Regional Premiere)
Director: Steve Kostanski. Canada. A zany mix of sci-fi, action and comedy, Manborg tells the story of a soldier brought back to life as a cyborg to fight against demon hordes in a dystopian future.

Sinners and Saints (Domestic Premiere with star Tom Berenger in attendance!)
Director: William Kaufman. USA. A tough New Orleans cop breaks in a new partner while investigating a series of brutal murders with ties to a crime war in the city’s Ninth District.

Transit (North American Premiere)
Director: Antonio Negret. USA. Jim Caviezel stars as a father on a family road trip that’s interrupted by a quartet of thieves who use his family as a decoy to evade the police after a daring armored car heist. James Frain (True Blood), Elisabeth Rohm and Diora Baird co-star.

Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines (Regional Premiere)
Director: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan. USA. A documentary about superheroines, particularly Wonder Woman, a true icon of comics, and an inspiration to feminism and to women of all ages.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

The Wild Bunch (1969, directed by Sam Peckinpah)
One of the greatest westerns of all time, hosted by this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Mickey Gilbert, who was a stuntman on the film.

True Romance (1993, directed by Tony Scott, written by Quentin Tarantino)
The all-time favorite film of “Chick” Norris Award recipient Gina Carano, who will introduce.

Sidekicks (1993, directed by Aaron Norris)
ActionFest co-founder Aaron Norris hosts a special family matinee screening of this 1993 favorite, starring his brother, Chuck Norris.

Comin’ At Ya! and Trailer War
Alamo Drafthouse and Drafthouse Films bring us the newly restored 1981 3D funfest Comin’ At Ya!, and Trailer War, 120 minutes of non-stop action movie trailers.

The Raid: Redemption (2011, directed by Gareth Evans, for Badge-holders only!)
A Badge-holders-only screening of The Raid: Redemption (opening at the Carolina Asheville on April 13), from director Gareth Evans, whose previous film, Merantau, swept the Actionfest Awards in 2010.