Hollywood today has little to offer in the way of martial arts films. The days of seeing our heroes on the big screen seem to be over. But in the world of independent cinema they are alive and well. There's a new breed of action star on the rise, paying homage to their forefathers while blazing a trail all their own. One person at the head of the pack is Fabien Garcia. He isn't alone in his quest to deliver the goods. Along with his friends Yannick Van Dam, and brothers Laurent and Didier Buson, they've formed Z Team Films, and their first feature, DIE FIGHTING, is available nationwide On Demand. Fabien wrote, directed, starred, choreographed, and edited what's sure to become a modern action classic. In our chat, he opens up about his training, life in a Shaolin monastery, and how a group of friends can accomplish anything when working together.
CD: Growing up in France, what inspired your lifelong passion for the martial arts?
FB: I started in Judo when I was 6 years old and I've loved martial arts films ever since. I remember riding my bike to the next village to rent movies with Jackie Chan, Van Damme and others; we really admired those films. When I was 14 years old, a family friend who specialized in Vovinam Viet Vo Dao began to teach me. He asked my reason for learning martial arts and I told him it was to protect the people I love and myself. After the divorce of my parents, I was the only boy in a house of four girls and I felt it was my job to be strong and protect them.
CD: You first began to practice Jiu Jitsu and Viet Vo Dao. Could you tell me a bit more about Viet Vo Dao?
FB: Vovinam Viet Vo Dao is a Vietnamese martial art. The concept of Vovinam is based on the principles between a hard and soft approach. It's a complete martial art and includes weapons work as well. I was fortunate enough to be friends with my first teacher, who taught me privately – not only Vovinam Viet Vo Dao, but a mix of styles he thought most efficient. He was a very good teacher who taught me the hard way; it looked similar to what we see in old Chinese movies with the master being very hard on his student. During my training the danger was real, he would attack me with real swords and I would dodge. He also hit me with a stick to make me less sensitive to pain. He wanted me to get used to the danger, as he would say, "When fighting for your life the danger is real, but the fear is often greater than your opponent." I also trained in a Jiu-Jitsu school.
CD: That's amazing! Can you talk about your experience training with the Shaolin monks and life living in the monastery?
FB: I arrived at the Shaolin monastery in June of 2000. Shaolin was different from what it was in the past and different to what it is today. When I went there, the monastery was surrounded by Wushu schools, including two supervised by the monastery. My school was one of them and training was hard since it lasted 8 to 10 hours a day. It was mostly tough at the beginning; my legs were so sore they felt like noodles. I’d climb the stairs one step at the time lifting my legs up with my arms just to get back to my room. We were waking up at 5 AM and the day began thirty minutes later. Morning exercise kicked off with jogging until we got to the top of Bodhidharma cave on the mountain. Living conditions were tough; I had no heater, the windows were shoddy, and during winter it would get as cold as three degrees. The summers were murder! I slept on a bed made of wooden boards and showered once a week in cold water. I hurt my ankle during winter and wasn’t able to train for two weeks. I had to stay on my bed a lot since it was so cold and I wasn't able to walk much. It didn't take long before I started having bruises all over my body because of it (laughs).
CD: This is where you first met Laurent Buson, correct?
FB: I met Laurent Buson AND Yannick Van Dam the day I arrived.
CD: How did that happen?
FB: They were going inside the monastery when I was leaving and we quickly became friends. Yannick Van Dam was a few years ahead of us so he was our big brother and showed us the ropes. Laurent was in another school and Yannick slept in the monastery since he was already one of the monks’ disciples.
CD: As Westerners, were you treated differently by the other students or monks?
FB: There were two different ways to train there: the Westerner way where you practice for a week or two, sleep at a hotel, have nice living conditions, and train when you want. Or the hard Chinese way with cheap rooms, common showers, no heater, training on the concrete, etc… and they hit you with a stick if you don’t wake up so that's how we trained.
CD: Once you completed your training there, you moved to the Beijing Sport University. How did the training differ?
FB: After Shaolin, living in the Beijing Sport University was paradise. The training was different, only 2 to 3 hours a day, but the quality of the teaching was also more efficient, as the teachers were all former Wushu national champions. They were the best and knew how to help you improve fast without killing your body. We trained two years in the Sport University and became friends with a national Wushu champion and Beijing Wushu team member, Wang Xiao Na. She was our private teacher until she became pregnant, so we went to Beijing Shi Cha Hai Sport School. That's where the Beijing Wushu Team and a young Jet Li trained.
CD: When did the filmmaking bug hit you and how did you find the time to learn while still keeping up with your training?
FB: I was still living in Beijing and went back to France to see my family. I met with my friend Arnaud, who was an aspiring filmmaker, mostly doing comedy short films. I asked if he would be interested in shooting an action short while I was there. He agreed and that’s how I shot my first short and fell in love with filmmaking. I learned the craft by doing them and by working on other people’s productions. I still had time left to train, there's always time for training. Just sleep a little less and try not to be too lazy.
CD: Tell me how and when the Z Team was formed and your motivation for starting it?
FB: After making my first short in France, I went back to China and showed it to Lohan (Laurent Buson). He was impressed and thought it would be nice to make a team of our own and do shorts together. I thought it could be fun and maybe, in the future, we could make a living from our passion.
CD: How does each member contribute to the team?
FB: We all have our strengths and weaknesses in different areas. I'm bad with networking because I'm too shy. Lohan (Laurent Buson) and Yannick are good at that... Lohan is a very good producer, while me, I focus more on the artistic side. We know each other very well so we know who is a better fit for this or that. I'm lucky to be surrounded by talented friends.
CD: When Z Team Films began doing shorts, what were your goals for them?
FB: Our goals were mostly to have fun and learn filmmaking at the same time. Nothing has changed. We're still having fun and still learning.
CD: DIE FIGHTING aka THE PRICE OF SUCCESS was the first feature film for the team. Where did the idea originate?
FB: I had the idea for the film while I was living in China. I was shooting in southern China, I had a small part in a TV show. During the bus trip, someone stole my laptop while I was asleep. During my free time in the production, I decided to go to an internet café to chat with my older sister and she advised me to see it as a sign. I decided to use the free time to write a new film. I was financially limited and wasn't even going to earn enough on the show to buy a new computer. Once I got back to the hotel, that's what I did. I thought of a scenario that wouldn't require a big budget. While looking through the window of my room, I started to think maybe I didn't need to write anything and someone else could be filming me without my knowledge. I was part of the film— the hero. I was imagining when I left the room, there would be a group of people attacking me and I had to fight for my life. The bad guy was the one who stole my laptop and I became an actor forced into the movie of a mysterious filmmaker. That’s how I came up with it.
CD: The found footage film has grown tired over the years and you were able to put a unique spin on it. Was it difficult planning out and shooting around this plot device?
FB: I wanted the film to look somewhat realistic while being an actual movie, so I decided to have all the camera angles and movements simulating surveillance cameras. We only placed cameras where a surveillance camera could be positioned. Sometimes it caused problems because it was hard to capture the emotions of the actors without any real close-ups. On the other hand, it allowed us to give the impression someone was spying on the actors, giving it a "reality film" dimension. For the fighting it was the same, the wide shots made the fights very clear but they were difficult since every mistake is easily seen, so there's no room for error.
CD: You paid homage to actors like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Were there any other influences?
FB: I admire Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and many more. I’ve seen all their films, so yes, my style is influenced by their work. The real reason we paid homage in the fights was the story called for it. The Filmmaker is forcing these actors into making his ideal action film and he wants to feature a bit of every cult fight scene situation from all of his favorite films.
CD: The action in the film is incredible and I'm sure it wasn't easy putting these scenes together. Could you walk me through the process of assembling a fight scene?
FB: First you need a script or an idea of what's happening in the scene, why they're fighting, what do the characters want, how many people are fighting. You also need to know who wins or loses, the location, how long should the fight be, and their style of fighting. Would it be dirty or more technical, etc…. After that you start putting things together in your head, the big lines, how the fight starts and ends, will they use weapons, create special hits, and so on. The next step is putting everything together. Try surveying the location before you shoot to adjust with the surroundings. If you have time to film a rehearsal, you should. After that, you're ready to shoot.
CD: What are the differences when shooting a one-on-one fight scene as opposed to a scene with one man against multiple opponents?
FB: When shooting one against multiple opponents, it's difficult for the main fighter to keep up with everyone. It goes so fast you don’t have time for hesitating; otherwise, you'll get punched in the face. When fighting one-on-one it's easier speed-wise, and you can stop if your opponent forgets his movements. During one-on-one fights, you'll put in more difficult moves and techniques.
CD: All of you have the chance to show the audience what you can do. When planning out the action, were each of you in charge of your own major fights or did you all contribute to the choreography?
FB: I was in charge of choreographing all the fights and action scenes, but I worked with Lohan and Didier on the two final fights.
CD: You put so much of yourself into finishing the picture, what was it like having to juggle so many different tasks?
FB: We did the work of several people, which was extremely difficult and tiring. But with most independent films you have to be an extreme multi-tasker. Fortunately, after years of making short films, we've learned to do all these things by ourselves or with a very limited crew. When you have several millions for a budget, it's possible to have other people do it. We didn't.
CD: Didier Buson is much shorter than the rest of you; how does he use his height to his advantage?
FB: No matter what style you practice, you adapt it to see what's useful to you and what's not. That’s why you need to know what the advantage of being short or tall is. You won’t fight the same way in every situation, in a movie, in a competition, or in real life at a bar with a drunk guy who wants to hit you. One of Didier’s qualities is that he's very fast and dynamic.
CD: When can we expect to see a DVD release of the film?
FB: We don’t know yet. Our distributor is thinking about it; we should know very soon.
CD: What are your plans for the future? Is DRAINED WORLD still a project you're pursuing?
FB: Yes, the pilot for DRAINED WORLD will launch this month along with a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for future episodes. We also have other projects in development.
CD: There's a whole group of new talent on the rise, guys like Mike Moller, Mathis Landwehr, Iko Uwais, Marko Zaror, and yourselves (just to name a few) who are ushering in the new wave of action films. Are there any rising action stars that you have been watching or admire?
FB: I met Iko at the premiere of THE RAID 2. I really like his style, and he's a very humble and nice person. I hope to work with him one day – and of course Mike Moller, Mathis Landwehr, Marko Zaror, Scott Adkins, there are so many others that I would really love working with.
CD: Best of luck to you and the rest of the team. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me.
FB: Anytime, it was my pleasure, and thank you!
