Beware The Boogeyman
On the eve of his second professional fight in mixed martial arts, Richie "Boogeyman" Martinez finds himself at an interesting intersection, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. He is a founding member of San Diego/Oceanside's notorious b-boy dance crew "The Freak Show". Boogeyman has in recent years found a new outlet for his anger and frustrations by competing in, and excelling in no gi jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts.
His athleticism and attention to detail in his dance have translated well to the fighting ring where Boogeyman, along with his brother and crew member Geo "Freakazoid" Martinez have found much success. Moving between archival dance footage and scenes from Boogeyman's fight day, both brothers reflect on what it takes to fight, and how their histories brought them to here.
In dance they are loved and hated for their rebelliousness, which manifests in their abstract flexible dance style and punk/alternative attire. Their experiences and adversity in their other career of competitive breakdance has shaped their outlooks in fighting and life as well.
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Christopher WoonDirectorAmong B-Boys
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Project Type:Documentary, Short, Web / New Media
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Genres:Martial Arts, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Hip Hop, Latino, Dance, B-Boy
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Runtime:8 minutes 13 seconds
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Completion Date:May 6, 2014
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Production Budget:1,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Seattle Asian American Film FestivalSeattle, WA
February 14, 2015
World Premiere
Christopher Woon made his feature directorial debut in 2011 with the long awaited documentary Among B-Boys, about the intersections of the B-Boy/Breakdance and Hmong American communities. As a 5th generation Chinese American with a 3rd generational experience, he grew up in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area, with a middle class, pan Asian American sensibility, which has translated into a passion for uncovering Asian American narratives at the start of his career.
Chris' first exposure to the processes of filmmaking came as a UCLA student in Asian American Studies and as an intern with Visual Communications in 2002. He went on to begin Among B-Boys as a documentary short with the Armed With A Camera fellowship in 2004 and received the James T. Yee Fellowship from the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) in 2006 to continue the film in a longer format. Production of Among B-Boys progressed concurrently with time spent working in youth development at various Boys & Girls Clubs and teaching multimedia in the Computer Clubhouse program.
Currently living in Seattle, WA, Chris holds a Master of Arts in Asian American Studies at UCLA. He currently directs music videos and produces freelance videos for corporations, small businesses, artists, and non profit organizations, while taking time to work on his next feature documentary, The Life and Times of Hella Hung. He also likes to dance, and makes music under the name “Paper Son”.