Press Kit
What is Brighton Wok?
Brighton Wok: The Legend of Ganja Boxing is a Kung Fu comedy set – incongruously – in an English seaside resort. An original cast of fresh, new actors and innovative production values make this movie a stand out.
Young fans of film and Kung Fu used the latest computer technology to make a full-length, high quality feature film fizzing with originality, totally independent of distributors and the film industry establishment.
The result is a micro-budget gem to rival any big budget competition. Brighton Wok is a surprising, original fusion of several classic genres, paying homage to many fan favourites with tongue kept firmly in cheek.
This is an epic spoof fused with an Ealing comedy, yet also inspired by comic culture and 80’s movies. Brighton Wok is above all a celebration of a city and its eccentrics made for and by its community.
What's it About?
The fashionable, funky and freedom-loving seaside town of Brighton is being taken over by an evil Italian Ninja and his Henchmen - a militia of kung-fu fighters.
Their ruthless and mysterious leader, Vafan Cuolo, seems bent on destroying all individuality in this traditional, English seaside town! Setting up office in the Royal Pavilion, they begin killing hippies, shutting down markets and fairs and blocking supplies of marijuana.
The people of Brighton town - forbidden to sing songs or smoke dope - try to rise up. They fail, despite the valour of two remarkable old ladies.
The coming of The Chosen One is foretold by the Crazy Old Man who Lives in a Tree in Queen’s Park. Only he can defeat Vafan Cuolo and liberate Brighton.
Ryu, a troubled but determined young man, seeks to learn the ancient martial art of Ganja Boxing to save his home town from destruction.
But first he must find The Ganja Master, a spiritual guru who lives in a wood on the Sussex Downs.
Who are you Guys?
Brighton Wok is a product of, and was made possible by, its community-orientated production values. Yet the movie has production values to rival those of much ‘bigger’ films. The crew making Brighton Wok varied widely in age and lifestyle and each of them brought something to the mix, giving their time, expertise and equipment often for free.
The open, collaborative nature of this project resulted in a fusion of the talents of individuals and companies from Britain’s film industry joining forces with local amateurs and entrepreneurs. Professional Kung-Fu experts, hundreds of extras and an enormous production team, including students and professional 3D designers, editors, compositors and animators from several universities and post-production houses.
“All we wanted to do was make the sort of film we would want to watch, not just some predictable Hollywood clone, and especially not a pale British shadow of one financed by the dead hand of a government arts grant” said Gabriel Howard, the film’s director. “We had the idea, Brighton had talent. It was that simple.”
The film also had another ace up its sleeve, as Saul Howard, the film’s producer explained, “Advances in digital technology brought the actual costs of film crashing down. This meant we could get big film values for a fraction of the cost. We’ve also focused a great deal on building up a worldwide fan base over the internet to make sure we had a market for the film when it was ready. They’ve been our support and inspiration. We’d be nothing without them.
“What we want to do now is roll out this model to encourage other film makers, to let them know you can make fun, commercial movies and not be dependent on anyone.”
For more information please contact Saul Howard at saul@convictfilms.com
Brighton Wok: The Legend of Ganja Boxing is a micro-budget, independent feature film available on widescreen DVD with 5.1 surround sound from the film’s website: brighton-wok.com
Facts About Brighton Wok
It actually started life as a comic short that kept getting re-shot and expanded.
A family film: we're proud of the list of Brighton Wok Babies you'll find near the end of the credits.
The soundtrack was entirely recorded on one microphone in Benjamin Sarfas' bedroom over one year.
Was filmed all over Sussex, with locations including: The Hundred Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh), Chanctonbury Ring, Devils' Dyke, Seaford, Beachy Head, Ditchling Beacon, Woodingdean, Harrison's Rocks, all over Brighton and of course Hove. But the location of the Ganja Master's wood is a secret!