''The Sensei'' is a 2008 independent feature film, written, produced and directed by

Diana Lee Inosanto Diana Lee Inosanto is an American actress, director, stuntwoman, and martial artist. She also wrote and directed the film ''The Sensei'' (2008), as well as having written a children's book titled ''The Curious Mind of Sebastian'' in 2020. Life ...

(credited as D. Lee Inosanto).

Plot summary

Set in Colorado, the story takes place in 1985 during the rise of the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

panic. McClain Evans is a gay high school student, constantly the target of bullying in his town. Karen O'Neil is a woman haunted by the death of her pro-boxer fiancé, Mark Corey. After a five-year absence, she returns to her family, who runs a successful

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

school. When McClain is attacked by three local teens, his mother, Annie, asks Karen to teach her son martial arts so that he can defend himself. Karen's family is fearful of anti-gay retaliation, so Karen is forced to secretly teach McClain at night. When word of this reaches her family, and the small-town community, violence erupts, and family and friendship are challenged, forcing Karen to reveal her own dark and tragic secret to those she loves most.

Cast

as Karen Nakano O'Neil *Michael O'Laskey as McClain Evans *Brad Thornton as Larry Blackbelt * Keith David as the Minister *

Louis Mandylor Louis Mandylor (born Elias Theodosopoulos; 13 September 1966) is an Australian film and television actor. Mandylor played Nick Portokalos in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), a role he reprised in the sequel ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'' (2 ...

as Mark Corey *

Sab Shimono is a Japanese-American actor. He began his career on stage on Broadway and in regional theaters, starring in musicals like ''Mame'', ''Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen'', and ''Pacific Overtures''. He has appeared in dozens of movies and television ...

as Taky Nakano *

Emily Kuroda Emily Keiko Kuroda (born October 30, 1952) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mrs. Kim on TV's ''Gilmore Girls'', but she has had a long career on stage and screen and is a veteran of East West Players, Los Angeles's premi ...

as Flora Nakano *

Michael Yama Michael Yama (November 14, 1943July 30, 2020), was an American actor who has regularly voiced for GI Joe. He has been on ''The X-Files'', ''Just Shoot Me'' and ''Lois & Clark'' and he starred on ''Betty White's Off Their Rockers''. Prior to his d ...

as Yori Nakano *Tim Lounibos as Simon Nakano O'Neil * Tzi Ma as the Buddhist Monk *Mark McGraw as Rick Beard *Jonathan Camp as Craig Beard *Gina Scalzi as Annie Evans *Bryan Frank as Peter O'Neil *Michael Hake as Gary O'Neil *

Ron Balicki Ron Balicki (born September 2, 1963) is an American actor and stuntman for various films and television series. He is also a well known martial arts practitioner, teacher and author. He is a student and the son-in-law of Dan Inosanto. Biograph ...

as Samurai #1 / Sparring Partner Vince

Awards

*Best Feature Writer – La Femme International Film Festival *Honorable Mention, Best Feature Film –

Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF) is an annual film festival in Philadelphia that shows feature films and short films by and about Asian Americans. Run by the nonprofit Philadelphia Asian American Film and Filmmakers, the 10-day ...

*Best Screenplay (Feature Film) –

Hoboken International Film Festival The Hoboken International Film Festival is an annual festival that promotes domestic and international television pilots, screenplays, non-studio films. Awards, with cash prizes, are given for the best submissions. The festival was founded by Kennet ...

References

External links

* *
''The Sensei'' profiled by Jane Mee Wong
in Northwest Asian Weekly (Oct. 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sensei, The American independent films American LGBT-related films Films about Japanese Americans American martial arts films Films directed by Diana Lee Inosanto Films set in Colorado Films set in the 1980s HIV/AIDS in American films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films