Update #1: Our Director of Photographer has published a blog about The Gong Fu Connection, highlighting various considerations of shooting a film from a cinematographer's view, click:http://neiloseman.com/?p=5703, have a go, it's fun to read!
What is The Gong Fu
Connection?
The Gong Fu Connection is an Action-Comedy short film with philosophical elements,
written and directed by Ted Duran.
![]()
The Gong Fu Connection will tell the story of Ricky, a young Chinese businessman
working in London. He faces numerous troubles in the city and is in debt to the
wrong people, causing him to lose his job and the love of his life. He flees, unsure
where to lie low he goes to Sussex, where he meets Matthew, an English farmer
working in a village called Forest Row. Ricky is surprised to find
that Matthew is a Gong Fu expert and has knowledge of China and its philosophy
of being harmonious with nature. He begins to learn Gong Fu skills and falls in
love with the pace of life in the country, but his troubles in the city
continue to haunt him, and a test of his humanity is coming…
![]()
The two main characters, Ricky and Matthew.
The Theme of Cultural Dualism
We have spent over
4 months researching and interviewing various actors from dually cultured
backgrounds, including Orion Lee who is known for the James Bond film Skyfall and 007 Legends. The film has been influenced by this research. In our story, the
Gong-Fu Master is an Englishman who deeply understands the fundamentals of
Chinese philosophy, while the Chinese character in our story is a businessman
who is heavily influenced by London city life and materialism. We would like to take
this experience of cultural exchange further, so the audience can see the
collision between the two cultures from a vastly different perspective, this
adds to the philosophical depth of the film, and results in a fresh take on the
action comedy genre.
![]()
Martial Focus - The Actors.
In
The Gong Fu Connection, we will see a range of different martial arts styles including Shaolin Kung Fu, Cannon fist, Boxing, Sanda and Tai Chi. Some of the actors in the film are well trained in various types of martial arts.
![]()
Writer, Director and Actor in the film, Ted Duran, is also
an accomplished martial athlete, as the winner of 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals
at the 2007 and 2011 Hong Kong International Kung Fu Competitions. He has trained in multiple styles of martial arts including Cannon Fist, Shaolin, San Da and Boxing. His last major role was in the hit film Beginning of the Great Revival, by China Film Group, in which he plays a Russian communist spy, but he is most known for his lead role in The Legend of Bruce Lee in which he plays "Blair", an enemy and later close friend of Bruce Lee's. The series and Feature film of the same name have been released worldwide and seen massive commercial success with over 400 million viewers. Ted also worked in Casting and film production on various Hollywood co-productions such as The Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
![]()
Writer, Director and Actor, Ted Duran, as MatthewKryukov Sergey from Russia, is also an accomplished martial artist, having trained with Ted Duran in China for 2 years. He will be assistant fight director and he plays one of the villains, Boulder. He won 1st place of I Rostove Open Traditional Martial Art Festival for Nang Quan and 2nd place for weapons in both 2006 and 2007.
Ricky
is played by
Wang Yiu Wong, an emerging Hong Kong actor whose recent professional acting
work includes
"Guan Xiaopeng", one of the lead roles in an upcoming BBC mini drama series,
One
Child. "Sergei", the Siberian Russian speaking gardener in
The Hen
Party (a short film directed by Keir Burrows) and "Radish", the
hermitic guardian in a Fantasy short film
Beyond The Forest. He has recently begun Kung Fu training in preparation for his role and is proving to be a fast learner, just like in the film itself!
![]()
Lead actor Wang Yiu Wong plays Ricky
Philosophy of Natural Living and Connection between People
As well as the character Matthew’s past Kung
Fu training and clear ability to kick ass, his knowledge of Taoism and ancient
Chinese thinking are clearly evident in our Western Gong-Fu master, and when he
is confronted with the possibility of mentoring a Chinese student, he is
quietly eager to preach these thoughts to Ricky, who seemingly has given up all
holistic virtues embraced by Chinese society. It will be interesting to see the
dynamics flowing between these two characters, and we expect the audience not
just to see, but feel how cultures are exchanged between races and identify the
similarities. This stems from the belief that people can and should still place importance on developing
connections by interacting constantly with nature and people, by projecting our
inner truths, while being wary of technologies that are supposed to simplify
our lives, but in turn only complicate them. This connection can allow us to trust with our hearts and live
harmoniously regardless of nationality, race or skin colour. Perhaps developing
this connection with nature can give us all we need and enable us to evolve
constantly in an ethical non-destructive way? This philosophy of living with nature
is evident in the spirit of our film, and the location, Forest Row, reflects
this. There is a ley line running through this area, and it is no coincidence
that it is also one of the centers in the UK for biodynamic farming and Rudolph
Steiner’s “anthroposophy”.
![]()
Where Does the Short Film Take Place?
The Gong Fu Connection takes place in both London and Sussex, to create a real
contrast between city and countryside.
The fact that this village in
Sussex has numerous large farms that practice biodynamic farming adds more to
the backdrop of the story. The cast and crew will enjoy biodynamic food that is
grown nearby and become a part of the lifestyle in and around the village. The Gong Fu Connection will also feature
a beautiful Stone Circle, a sacred place sitting on the ley line, hidden deep within the Ashdown Forest.
![]()
Why Do We Need Your Help?
The funding we receive from Indiegogo will go direct to the pre-production, filming and post-productions of The Gong Fu Connection. It will enable us to hire a team of film professionals including director of photography Neil Oseman and music score composer Lachlan Munro. The funding will also cover accommodation and food for a cast and crew of over 25 people filming in various locations in East Sussex and London. We are trying our best to cut costs: We have sourced local biodynamic food for everybody on set, and have a caterer enabling us to have homemade meals on set. We also have cut costs on equipment; borrowing bits and pieces wherever we can, and many talented people are assisting us off their own backs. However due to high costs for equipment hire, locations, post production, cast and crew expenses and the hiring of certain film professionals, we need £15,000 to boost our existing budget and enable the final product to be of the highest quality.
Gong Fu Connection is supported by Amanda Brennan from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Production Team
Writer, Director: Ted Duran
Cinematographer: Neil Oseman
Locations Manager: Ben Crawshaw
Music Score Composer: Lachlan Munro
Graphic Designer, Storyboard artist: Harry Wong
Producer: Xinyi Shen
Film Advisors
Amanda Brennan
Camila French
Photographer: Nicholas Andrews
Full Cast:
Ted Duran as "Matthew", Wang Yiu Wong as "Ricky", James Rey as "Gary", Sergey Kryukov as "Boulder", Marién E.
Caraballo-Cales as "Aimara", Carmina Bernhardt as "Lucia", Michael Feldsher as "Sergei", Dave Flintan as "Mandragor", Michelle Donnelly as "Rainbow", Lachlan Munro as "Mr. Cockburn" and Benjamin Crawshaw as "Jarmeen".
![]()
More Kung Fu Videos online: Below are some examples of work and achievements from our talented Cast and Crew.
Ted Duran's recent showreels:
Showreel 2014: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpmR6V_suI8>
Legend of Bruce Lee Showreel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GhI54gf1-QTed Duran competing at the 2011 Hong Kong International Wu Shu Festival:
<http://bit.ly/1pY44k9> Cannon Fist: <http://bit.ly/TRcIll>
Sergey Kryukov. Presentation
on the First Martial arts Festival:<http://bit.ly/1oz4bgB>
Jian Chang Quan: <http://bit.ly/1lS96Gp>
Sanda Performance: <http://bit.ly/1znJZWr>
Risks and Challenges
The Gong Fu Connection is a very unusual Gong Fu film as the main theme is not merely focusing on exciting martial arts but looks at the relationships between human beings. This allows us to explore the unique aspects of connections between people from different backgrounds, with the language of Gong Fu, natural living and the beautiful human nature that is embedded in all of us. We believe it will benefit generations of people living and enjoying life here, on earth. This ambitious project is a massive undertaking and raising enough funds IS something that all of you out there in the world can help us with, please spread the word as far as it can reach to get the attention of all those who have a passion for martial arts, films, the natural world and the philosophy of truthful living. Aside from donating, here are some things you can do to help us:
- Email your family and friends
- Blog about the short film and our Indiegogo campaign
- Support us and receive your rewards!
We hope that you become a part of making this film a reality!
