Justin Ambrosino’s The 8th Samurai

It’s not everyday where we get to feature one of our own. IONCINEMA.com’s humble beginnings began with voices like Justin Ambrosino. Justin was a film enthusiast who took on the ranks of Film Reporter helping us get a foothold in NYC. He was sorely missed when he went onto greener pastures, those pastures ended up being one of the big four film schools in the U.S – to be precise, the American Film Institute where Terrence Malick, David Lynch and Darren Aronfosky got their starts. Fast forward a couple of years later, and I’m extremely pleased to present Justin’s latest project — an excellent short (especially for film buffs) that has just begun its journey on the film festival circuit and will be shown this weekend at the 12th edition of the Sonoma International Film Festival. 

Justin Ambrosino‘s The 8th Samurai will be shown at several film festivals across the U.S. and more get added to the list (visit www.the8thsamuraimovie.com for updates). So far, the 28 minute short has been featured in two festivals and has picked up awards at both, and more good news keeps on coming in: Justin is now in the process of making his first feature film next year which Korean director Yong-Ki Jeong is producing. The picture will be set in Seoul, Korea – quite the world away for the New Yorker.

For those who can’t make it to the festival, Justin was kind enough to let us show the trailer for it here.   

 Film Festival Listing: 

1.   * Winner – Excellence in Filmmaking Award * Honolulu

International Film Festival (USA)

2.   * Winner – Best Student Film, Best Director, Best Actor Awards *

Show Off Your Shorts Festival (USA)

3.   * Selected * New Beijing International Film Festival (China)

4.   * Selected * Video Festival Imperia (Italy)

5.   * Selected * George Lindsey UNA Film Festival (USA)

6.   * Selected * Carolina International Film & Video Festival (USA)

7.   * Selected * First Glance Hollywood Film Festival (USA)

8.   * Selected * Sacramento International Film Festival (USA)

9.   * Selected * Big Muddy Film Festival (USA)

10. * Selected * World of Comedy Film Festival (Canada)

11. * Selected * Charleston International Film Festival (USA)

12. * Selected * Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (USA)

13. * Selected * B.E. Short Film Festival (USA)

14. * Selected * Japan Film Festival (USA)

15. * Selected * Sonoma International Film Festival (USA)

16. * Selected * Newport Beach Film Festival (USA)

17. * Selected * Staten Island Film Festival (USA)

18. * Selected * Boston International Film Festival (USA)

19. * Selected * AFI Showcase (USA)

20. * Selected * Fukuoka Asian Film Festival (Japan)