BIG BAD FILM FEST Unveils Action-Packed 2026 Lineup Featuring North American Premieres & A Tribute To Tony Stella
Big Bad Film Fest 2026 Poster Design by Ali Shimhaq.
Press release from K.O. PR
BIG BAD FILM FEST will celebrate its 2026 edition with an electrifying program of premieres, classics, never-seen oddities, and an all-weekend art gallery dedicated to the works of late great poster artist Tony Stella. The celebration of action filmmaking old and new occurs from August 21st through August 23rd, 2026, returning to the LOOK Dine-In Cinema in Glendale, CA.
The festival website is now live with tickets on sale for the complete lineup of 11 features, 6 of which are North American Premieres, and 20 shorts ready to be discovered.
Fest co-founders Patrick R Young and Powell Robinson on the 4th edition of the international action festival: “We’re beyond excited to present a diverse array of visions, voices, and violence. This year’s lineup focuses heavily on films that may never have made it to a big screen in North America. We believe action deserves to be big and be seen big.”
From recently uncovered V-Cinema gems to the underrated mastery of the American DTV scene, BIG BAD FILM FEST 2026 offers everything an action, genre, or film lover could want.
OPENING NIGHT EVENT: WINGS OF DREAD STARRING ASHTON CHEN & IKO UWAIS and TONY STELLA: CROSSWAYS
The North American Premiere of Ashton Chen & Qin Pengfei’s raucous, mile-high jolt of adrenaline kickstarts a weekend of action. Wings of Dread stars Ashton Chen as air police officer Gu Chaoyang as he encounters a hijacking crisis on his flight back to China. He must fight desperately to stop the hijacker, played by Iko Uwais (The Raid), as the life-and-death struggle unravels.
BIG BAD FILM FEST has also partnered with the estate of late great poster artist Tony Stella to present a gallery of Tony’s work throughout the festival weekend. The displays will include full-sized finalized work of Tony’s provided by Arrow Video, BWDR, and private collectors alongside original artwork and sketches collected from Tony’s studio. Archivists are in the process of sorting through over 30,000 works of art and this gallery will give attendees the chance to glimpse inside Tony’s process and studio, as well as give the opportunity to donate to Tony’s estate as they continue to make sure his family and art are taken care of.
GUESTS OF HONOR: IKATAN DARAH EXCELLENCE AND AMERICAN DTV VISIONARIES
The weekend will see an array of special Q&As. In the spotlight will be Ikatan Darah’s producer, Ryan Santoso, and star, Livi Ciananta, to celebrate their hard-hitting Indonesian action film from Uwais Pictures, followed by a celebration of Michael Jai White’s career hosted by the Action 4 Everyone Podcast with White in person. Bringing his magnetic DTV masterpiece Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning will by director John Hyams, will be followed by a discussion with a friend of the fest and prolific writer, Brandon Streussnig. Also joining the festival will be original Match Mondo manga creator Shogo Horiuchi!
As was the case in previous years, BIG BAD FILM FEST will also feature and highlight original pieces of writing from film journalists. This year will have original pieces from Jen Yamato, Valerie Complex, Brandon Streussnig, and Frankie Balboa.
CLOSING NIGHT EVENT: FIGHT AGAINST EVIL 3 + SHAOLIN AVENGERS
Closing out the blistering weekend is the North American premiere of Yang Bingja’s (Eye for an Eye 2) Fight Against Evil 3, starring the Furious’s Xie Miao. The action-comedy finds Li Hongqi (Miao), forced to travel for his wedding but needing to team up with a local cop to rescue a girl from human traffickers, fighting criminals while racing against his wedding date. The film will be paired with Martial Club’s short film SHAOLIN AVENGERS starring Brian Le, in a spiritual Furious reunion, Andy Le, and DY Sao.
The lineup also includes plenty of films that action lovers will be thrilled to see on the big screen, including Eiji Uchida’s spin-off of the popular Round-Up series, Tokyo Burst: Crime City, Li Bingyuan’s Drunken Blade, Isaac Florentine’s UNDISPUTED II (complete with a Q&A with star Michael Jai White), Sidharta Tata’s Ikatan Darah, Ryusuke Kurahashi’s Match Monde (written by Baby Assassins helmer Yugo Sakamoto), and a special presentation of Toei’s Crime Hunter Trilogy.
2026 BIG BAD FILM FEST FEATURE LINEUP (Alphabetical Order):
Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage (1989)
Crime Hunter 2: Bullets of Betrayal (1989) | North American Premiere
Crime Hunter 3: Killing Bullet (1990) | North American Premiere
Dir. Toshimichi Ohkawa Starring: Masanori Sera
DRUNKEN BLADE | West Coast Premiere
Dir. Li Bingyuan Starring: Li Bingyuan, Sun Yiran
FIGHT AGAINST EVIL 3 | North American Premiere
Dir. Yang Bingjia Starring: Xie Miao, Diana Lin Xiaojie, Cui Zhijia
IKATAN DARAH | West Coast Premiere | Q&A w/ Livi Ciananta & Ryan Santoso
Dir. Sidharta Tata Starring: Livi Ciananta, Derby Romero, Ismi Melinda
MATCH MONDE | North American Premiere | Q&A w/ Shogo Horiuchi
Dir. Ryûsuke Kurahashi Starring: Daigo Kotaro, Katsuki Masayoshi, Kawasaki Honoka
TOKYO BURST: CRIME CITY | North American Premiere
Dir. Eiji Uchida Starring: Koshi Mizukami, U-Know Yunho, and Uhm Ki-Joon
UNDISPUTED II | 20th Anniversary Screening | Q&A w/ Michael Jai White
Hosted by the Action 4 Everyone Podcast
Dir. Isaac Florentine Starring: Michael Jai White, Scott Adkins
UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING | Q&A w/ John Hyams
Dir. John Hyams Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Dolph Lundgren
WINGS OF DREAD | North American Premiere
Dir. Ashton Chen, Qin Pengei Starring: Ashton Chen, Iko Uwais, Qu Jingjing
BIG BAD FILM FEST 2026 SHORTS LINEUP (Alphabetical Order)
Bag Lady | dir. Eric Jacobus
Bangkok Dragons | dir. Barret Walter Coates
Check Please | dir. Shane Chung
Guard | dir. Jose Escorcia
Happy Cooking | dir. Ayane
Hunted | dir. Matt Routledge
Kicks of Fury | dir. Euri Sakamoto
Knuckles | dir. Jay Curtis Miller
Lost in Spice | dir. Maryline VO, Virak THUN
The Mime | dir. Kevin Barile
Mind, Body, & Soul | dir. Davidson Corona
Night Shift | dir. Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe
One Last Job | dir. Spencer Schwendiman
Shaolin Avengers | dir. Andy Le
Stronghold | dir. Reginald Johnson
TCG | dir. Jeremie Earp
Time | dir. Bulent Ozlarusso
Wakashu | dir. Jill Gillespie
Waterlogged | dir. Kent. Lloyd
We Are All Monsters | dir. James Newman
The 4th edition of the BIG BAD FILM FEST will take place in Los Angeles from August 21st to August 23rd, 2026.
For the very latest in up-to-date information on this year’s screenings and events, follow the Big Bad Film Fest on Instagram, X/Twitter, or via their newsletter at bigbadfilm.com.
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