You could say it was Jackie Chan that first brought together the Manila-based martial arts power couple, Sarah Chang and Vincent Soberano. They first met at the Jackie Chan Stuntman Training Centre; a huge complex in Tianjin, used by people from all over the world to train in the martial arts and make it in the movies. Vincent - a former professional fighter and pioneer of mixed martial arts in China, who helped to train the country's first UFC fighters - helped to design the facility; and in 2016, in walked Sarah Chang - actor, producer, fight choreographer, and five-time USA national wushu team member - training for a role in a movie. While she was there, she befriended the stunt coordinator, Sam Hargrave, who ended up using her to double Celina Jade in Wu Jing's action blockbuster, Wolf Warrior II. Vincent and Sarah connected over their passion for martial arts, and their drive to portray authentic fighting styles in the movies. But it wasn't until their work on the action horror, Blood Hunters - filmed in the Philippines - that the two decided to leave Beijing and move to Manila full-time, where they have since started a family, set up their own production company, and produced a string of films together, as well as working on their own projects. Their other films together include the tournament movie, The Trigonal, and the soon-to-be-released, Circle of Bones. Vincent and Sarah discuss the challenges they face making martial arts films in the Philippines, which is still an uphill struggle despite the international success of similarly 'hyper-local' fight films made elsewhere in Asia. They also share tips on how they are remaining busy (and sane) during the coronavirus lockdown. Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids is out now on digital platforms including Amazon, Vimeo on Demand, FlixFling, Vudu and Fandango, courtesy of DarkCoast.
LINKS
Sarah Chang on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starringsarahchang/
Sarah Chang on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starringsarahchang/
Sarah Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchangwushu
Sarah Chang's website: https://starringsarahchang.com/
Vincent Soberano on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VincentSoberanoFilms/
Vincent Soberano on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vincentsoberano/
Vincent Soberano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VinceSoberano
Vincent Soberano's website: http://vincentsoberano.com/
'Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids' on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloodhuntersthemovie/
'Circle of Bones' on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cobmovie/
'Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids' review on Kung Fu Movie Guide: https://bit.ly/BloodHunters2019
'The Trigonal: Fight for Justice' review on Kung Fu Movie Guide: https://bit.ly/TheTrigonal
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
