ANTONIADES ON SHOW IN 'ASHES TO ASHES'
Rob Corwell Reports (Fighter - Vol 12. No 4.)

One of just a handful of Kenpo Karate instructors in Britain, 6th dan Athos Antoniades is delighted following the release, on DVD, of 'Ashes to Ashes'. a raw, humorous action thriller involving greed, betrayal, the Chinese Triads, martial arts, the Italian Mafia and male escorts.

"It was wonderful to be involved and star in the very first British Kung-fu film ever released (1999) adn possibly the first digital feature ever made," Antoniades, who runs his own full-time studio in Ballard's Lane North Finchley, London, said.

A Red Moon Production and a Wayne Gerard Trotman film 'Ashes to Ashes' is set in London's West End and is the uncompromising story of struggling screen-writer who finds himself fighting for his life after a brief encounter with the mistress of an underworld boss - no wires, stund doubles, mats or pads!

Antoniades was approached after Trotman read about his American Kenpo Taiji Association (AKTA) in a Martial Arts Magazine. Antoniades plays a role of a 'Mafia Karate expert', the bodyguard to an Italian Mafia don. Antoniades also choreographed several fight scenes in the film, employing the Kenpo techniques 'Evading the storm' and 'Flashing Mace'.

The film also stars Vincent Wong, of 'Batman Begins' and 'Shanghai Knights'; Jason Ninh Cao ('Snatch' and 'Shaolin Wheel of Life'); Cecil Cheng ('The Fifth Element' and 'Shaolin Wheel of Life') and Hon Ping Tang ('The Fifth Element' and 'Sky Game'). The film boasts a stick fight staged by Wushu Master and Hollywood stuntman Wong, as well as several scenes featuring the use of nunchaku by Trotman himself.

"Viewers have asked if the nunchaku scenes have been sped up. The answer is emphatically 'no'," says writer and director Trotman. "In fact, some of the nunchaku sequences couldn't be used int he final cut as the sticks were not captured on camera. The camera records images at 24 frames per second so anything moving faster than that becomes invisible. In a slow motion sequence kept in the film, my hands and the stick can barely be seen."

Audiences have grown accustomed to perfectly choreographed wire-enhanced stunts where actors seemingly defy the basic laws of gravity. "In some films the fighting scenes are shot with teh actors moving very slowly then the sequences are sped up in the edit. This makes filming sfer and the actors appear very graceful and competent as fighters, but the results are sometimes hard to believe," Trotman added.

"However, that's not hte approach I wanted to tkae for 'Ashes to Ashes'. I wanted something that looked authentic. To create a sense of real danger I insisted in real weapons. The stunts were worked out a few minutes before the take, actors wore no protective padding and we had no protective floor mats. The fighters we used knew what they were doing so what you see is the real deal."

Following the success of Ashes to Ashes, Red Moon Productions are currently in pre-production of a new sci-fi/martial arts feature, 'Psychic Wars', which it is planned will feature the talents of Antoniades and Shaolin martial monks. Remaining true ot their complete independence Red Moon Productions have released 'Ashes to Ashes' exclusively on the internet through www.customflix.com and www.amazon.com

For the award winning trailer and information regarding 'Ashes to Ashes' visit the official film site at: www.redmoon.co.uk

To purchase the DVD use the link: www.customflix.com/207918