The Sensei
THE SENSEI
Written and Directed by D. Lee Inosanto
In the Spirit of
‘Directing Actors’
like
George Clooney
and Edward Burns
(but with ovaries…)
The 24th LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL
Sunday, May 4th, 2008 at 4:00pm.
Hosted by Visual Communications
(Tickets go up in mid April so
visit: www.vconline.org )
LOCATION:
Directors Guild of America,
7920 Sunset Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(PLEASE JOIN "THE SENSEI" MOVEMENT AT: www.myspace.com/thesenseimovie)
THE SENSEI is one of the official selections for the
24th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. We screen on Sunday,
May 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm in the big theater (600 seats) at the
Directors Guild of America.
THE SENSEI was one out of four films, picked from 30 feature films,
chosen by the festival to have a Press Screening at Raleigh Studios a
week or two before the festival.
"it is a film that will change hearts and minds and more importantly,
save lives"
—Thomas Howard, Education Director
MATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEFEND YOURSELF
…AGAINST HATRED
THE SENSEI is about a lonely gay teen named McClain growing up in a
small town in Colorado during the dawn of the AIDS epidemic.
Constantly the target of hate and bullying, after a near fatal beating
by three school mates, he finds himself the secret student of a woman
"sensei" named Karen who teaches him the martial ways to protect
himself and the path to inner peace. But there are some lessons in
life that don't come easy.
CAST:
KEITH DAVID ("CRASH, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY")
LOUIS MANDYLOR ("MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, THE QUEST")
D. LEE INOSANTO ("THE PRODIGY")
MIKE OLASKEY ("3 NINJAS: HIGH NOON AT MEGA MOUNTAIN")
SAB SHIMONO ("SOUTHLAND TALES, WATERWORLD")
EMILY KURODA ("GILMORE GIRLS")
TZI MA ("RUSH HOUR, ALPHA DOG")
AND INTRODUCING MARK MCGRAW (SON OF BASEBALL ICON TUG MCGRAW, AND
BROTHER OF COUNTRY SINGER TIM MCGRAW)
ADDITIONAL CAST:
TIM LOUNIBOS, GINA SCALZI, GERMAINE DELEON, MICHAEL YAMA, BRYAN FRANK,
AND MICHAEL HAKE.
DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS:
My movie mirrors the political and social struggles still happening
today. With the recent murder of Lawrence King who lived in my area
(http://www.rememberinglawrence.org/) I am glad that I took the path
to make this film despite the hardships and politics, my producers and
myself endured. I was motivated to make my film years ago after the
senseless murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming 1998.
Lawrence King's case only bears in mind the need to create more
awareness about tolerance and diversity.
I am happy to announce that THE SENSEI is endorsed by civil rights
groups like the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Hate Crimes Bill
Act (www.hatecrimesbill.org), which was lead by Senator Ted Kennedy
and Senator Gordon Smith. I've also had contact with individuals
from Human Rights Campaign, Simon Wiesenthal Center: Museum of
Tolerance, and Rainbow Alley.
However, as a Writer/Director/ Producer, the road to making THE SENSEI
was not easy. THE SENSEI made international headline news in 2005 when
the Associated Press got wind of our struggles. Two ultra conservative
school districts (one of them that governed Columbine) would not allow
us to film due to "questionable values" as one administrator stated.
As I have always stated in the press, THE SENSEI is a movie about
respect, tolerance and personal growth.
http://festival.vconline.org/program.cfm?program_id=36
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