ActionFest 2 Announces Full Film Lineup, Jury and Special Guests

The people behind ActionFest2 recently announced it's full lineup and special guests for the upcoming festival that takes place on April 7th - 10th in Asheville, NC.

ActionFest 2 announced its full lineup and competition jury for its returns to the beautiful Carolina Cinema in Asheville this April 7th - 10th, as well as some action film luminaries making special appearances. The only international film festival devoted exclusively to action cinema and its unsung heroes, the festival promises to be four days of adrenaline-fueled pleasure with an exciting combination of the best in contemporary action cinema and classics of the genre, as well as a world class stunt show, exciting panels and tributes to action cinema legends.



As previously announced. ActionFest 2 opens with the World Premiere of Jonathan English’s Ironclad. The closing night film will be Takeshi Miike’s epic samurai masterpiece, 13 Assassins on Sunday April 10th. Additionally, the following films were announced today:



Bail Enforcers — A bounty hunting babe tackles the tough guys in this World Premiere starring seven-time WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus, who will be in attendance!



Never Back Down 2 – World Premiere of this anticipated MMA fight flick, directed by and starring Michael Jai White, who will be in attendance!

Battle Royale – The official US theatrical debut of the popular and controversial Japanese cult classic.

Fightville – Fresh from SXSW, a hard hitting doc about the art and sport of mixed martial arts fighting.

Bellflower – From Sundance and SXSW, this indie gets under the skin of the action genre with a story about two apocalypse-obsessed friends.

Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Movie – World Premiere Kung Fu documentary based on the book by martial arts cinema expert Ric Meyers

The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch– Regional Premiere of this adaptation of the popular French action-adventure comic book hero

Lonely Place to Die – World Premiere about a group of five mountaineers who find danger while hiking and climbing in the Scottish Highlands.

Tomorrow, When the War Began – North American Premiere of the Australian box office hit flick based on best-selling novel series that pits teenagers against an army invasion.

Previously announced films include: Jackie Chan’s Little Big Soldier, Hobo With A Shotgun starring Rutger Hauer, James Gunn’s vigilante thriller Super, Bangkok Knockout from the stunt team and filmmakers of Ong Bak, Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage, the surreal fist-and-sword epic Bunraku, and the jungle exploitation doc Machete Maidens Unleashed!

The jury for ActionFest 2 is comprised of:

Jay Deacon – Asheville Radio Personality from 105.9 The Mountain

Katrina Hill – action film blogger (www.actionflickchick.com) and G4TV’s first Next Woman of the Web champion

Tim League – CEO & Founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas and Founder, Fantastic Fest

Scott Weinberg – Film critic & editor at Cinematical, FearNet, Horror Squad, Twitch, among other publications.

Russell Towery – Veteran stuntman with over 130 credits to his name (was the man in the Robocop suit in all three films)

This year, ActionFest is pleased to introduce the Action Producer of the Year Award. The inaugural award will go to Sahamongkolfilm, founded by Somsak Techaratanaprasert (also the company’s Chief Executive) over 3 decades ago, for its work producing the incredibly successful Ong Bak trilogy starring Tony Jaa, as well as the upcoming Bangkok Knockout from famed Action Choreographer and Director, Panna Rittikrai. Other notable productions include Born to Fight, Dynamite Warrior and Chocolate.

On Saturday April 9th and Sunday April 10th, there will be two panels: great stories from the legendary careers of the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Buddy Joe Hooker and representatives of Stunts Unlimited, and a discussion of the role of the Modern Fight Director, featuring Larnell Stovall (Undisputed III), Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite, Never Back Down 2) and martial arts film expert Ric Meyers (Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Movie).

Check out www.actionfest.com for more information and be sure to visit the official ActionFest Blog (http://actionfestblog.com/) for details on the “30 Seconds of Action Film Challenge,” a competition where aspiring filmmakers compete to write, direct and produce the best thirty-second action movie.