4,985,302 ….!
As I sit waiting for a flight to Beijing from Chicago, I decided to visit our Youtube page for one last time, as they (youtube) are blocked in China. One amazing fact caught my eye… we are approaching five million total views – 4,985,302 to be exact. So thank you to all our Youtube visitors [...]
On Location…Beijing Shichahai Sports Academy
We are on our way to film on location at the Beijing Shichahai Sports School – home to the legendary Beijing Wushu Academy. This is also one of the main centers for training young sports talents and Olympic athletes. It is where most of the Asian and World Wushu champions are trained including Li Lianjie, [...]
Our Friends in Japan
So today we started to hear back from some friends in Japan, one of them e-mailed this video clip to me – it’s incredible, please click above to play. Most of my friends in Japan have a story to tell, some big and some small. One friend in Tokyo said he was scanned for radiation [...]
A Tragedy in Japan Today
As you all know a tragedy struck Japan today. No one is sure exactly how badly. I just received three emails from there – even Tokyo was shaken very badly! I was planning to be there in early April – just two weeks away – in fact I was going to Sendai, which is the [...]
On Location… Shaolin
We have been shooting on location at the Shaolin Temple on a new film we hope to release at the end of this year. It is centered around a young eight year old American boy, Andre, who aspires to walk in the foot steps of jet Li. In fact this month of March 2011 he [...]
New Website Soon … New Movie
It does’nt seem that anything new has been happening for a while, but we have been very very busy. Our new movie The Japanese Sword is in post production and going very well. While it’s tough to forecast a release date, I would guess around end of Summer (the official date). We are also planning [...]
Talking With Buddha
We are very pleased to announce our new release next week of Talking With Buddha. We are very proud of this film. We originally intended to document the current state of Tibetan Buddhism under the guideship of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in India, referred to as Tibet in exile. However, the interviews are so [...]
Zen in the Art of Archery … The Movie!
After six months of negotiations, Empty Mind Films has now signed a deal with Random House Publishing for the movie rights to the classic book, Zen in the Art of Archery (by Eugen Herrigel). We are overjoyed at grabbing such a prize – one of the most popular texts on Japanese culture ever written. Yes, [...]
Japan 2009 Kendo Championships
While on Location filming, we stopped by the Japan Kendo Championships on November 3rd at the Budokan in Tokyo. The Kendo Federation allows me to film down on the floor of the arena which is always the most exciting place to be – just feet away from the action. This year the winner was Uchimura Ryoichi, [...]
On Location… Japan
Here are some photos of our location filming on the Japanese Sword. These are at the swordmakers, Kawachi and Manabe, two of Japan’s great masters. Manabe actually makes his own steel for his swords.
A Work in Progress… a true martial ART.
This month of October will see the Empty Mind Film crew on location in Japan. We are starting a six week location shoot that will take us from Tokyo down to the southern island of Kyushu. We are filming a new title on the making of the Japanese sword and its place in Japanese culture. [...]
The Last Clan Movie … releasing soon
We are releasing our new film title, The Last Clan in mid-September. It is a film about a unique culture. A way of life that has existed for centuries but now finds itself crushed between the juggernaut of China’s mighty economy and the new found freedom of its young mobile generation. We think you will [...]
On Location News: Yoga in India
We commenced filming in Mysore in southern India and its the start of our spiritual journey across India in search of Yoga Gurus. We just completed filming at the Ashtanga Yoga Institute – started by the father of Ashtanga Yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Attached is a photo of the founders grandson, Shareth, who is now [...]
Inside the Studios
We are often asked questions about what equipment we use or where do we edit our films. The photo above almost answers both these questions. The camera is our latest acquisition – the Sony EXDcam, a High Definition professional camera which records full 1080p footage on high speed flash cards – incredible technology. We also [...]
New Release .. finally!
Well we finally made it – a new release. It’s been two years since we completed The Zen Mind. Time really does fly by, especially when you make two films back to back. Starting in 2007, we commenced a very ambitious two film project to document many of China’s great martial arts masters. Let’s face [...]
