SISTER SENSEI, circa 1994, is a tongue-in-cheek karate comedy about a wise and good-natured Martial Arts instructor named Sensei Dave. His simple, peaceful life in the suburbs is suddenly shattered while watching the news on TV. The evil and maniacal Tiger has issued a public challenge to fight him in the Big Ring for a Grand Prize.
The Tiger is a notorious hit man renowned for his brutality in the ring and Sensei Dave finds himself with no other choice but to be morally drawn into this competition to stop this bad guy once and for all!
Unbeknownst to our hero, the unscrupulous Cable crime bosses, Hal and Bev Gaudy have given the Tiger strict orders to stop at nothing for the cash prize. They have big money on this fight and they plan to win!
Meanwhile, as soon as Mindy hears that her brother, Sensei Dave has accepted this challenge, she takes leave of her successful career in Hollywood to be by his side. But it quickly becomes clear that this loyalty as a sister may well be her most challenging role!
Mindy Seeger – SISTER SENSEI
Aside from her real-life acting career, which includes a recurring role as a reporter on WEST WING, Mindy Seeger is also a fine artist whose work has greatly influenced among many others, the entire Seeger family. A breast cancer survivor, she has authored a book on the subject entitled Breast Heaven, and has made it available to the public on her website. Learn more at www.mindyseeger.com.
Hal Seeger – HAL GAUDY
Beverly Arnold – BEVERLY GAUDY
Hal and Bev gave 100% when it came to playing their roles as the malicious and corrupt cable TV Crime bosses. In real life, Hal (CEO) and Beverly Seeger (President) were the co-founders of TODAY VIDEO INC. Hal also was a well-known Animation Producer and the Creator of Batfink, Fearless Fly, and Milton the Monster. Beverly, a former actress and singer, was also the founder of the MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM in Kings Point, NY. Several scenes were filmed in their self-described “Mansion Impossible.” One of the most memorable features beloved friend and neighbor, Arthur Kirshner fanning Hal in the indoor pool as the crime boss floated around on a raft. This feature also includes an excerpt from a Batfink cartoon.
Jordan Rudess – MUSIC SOUNDTRACK
The music soundtrack for our feature was written and produced by the legendary virtuoso keyboardist best known as a member of the Grammy-nominated progressive rock band DREAM THEATER and the progressive rock supergroup LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT. He is also the founder of WIZDOM MUSIC whose goal is to create new types of musical instrumental user interfaces and experiences, primarily with tablet computers.
Learn more at www.jordanrudess.com.
Mano Sookarin – ROBERT
Originally from Trinidad, Robert, as he is known to us all, lived with Hal and Beverly and their family for many years as caretaker, driver and a loyal friend. A natural actor, he took great delight in being in front of the camera and especially enjoyed shooting the final scenes. Spoiler alert! You'll have to watch the movie and find out why!
Robert Scaglione – THE TIGER
David and Holly first met Hanshi Robert Scaglione in 1981 at PERSON-TO-PERSON KARATE on Lexington Avenue in NYC. When we decided to make this feature, we were honored that Hanshi was all in to play the Bad Guy. And what a job he did! Poor little Sammy Seeger was terrified every time he walked through the door. Sam, two and a half at the time, would run screaming into the kitchen. “Mom! Don’t go down in the basement!" Wide-eyed in terror, he would then say in a loud whisper, "The Tiger is here!” Learn more at www.shorinryu.com.
Lesley R. Vogel – TIGER’S GIRLFRIEND
When we first met Lesley, she had just finished work on the soap opera, LOVING and was performing in Off-Broadway plays and video productions. She was also an acting coach for local drama students, a skill which proved to be a key ingredient in the career of her daughter, Hayden Panettiere. We were thrilled that Lesley agreed to play a significant role in our feature film. Learn more about her at imdb.com.
Eden Lee Murray – HOMELESS WOMAN
At one point in the film, Eden Lee absolutely stole the show with her fabulous portrayal of the troubled, yet wise derelict hobo living in the woods. She later appeared in the feature, GLACIER (1995) and on the series, LOST (2004). Eden Lee currently lives in Hawaii and is the Educational Director of the HAWAII THEATER CENTER. Learn more about her at imdb.com.
February 27 2015
Watching SISTER SENSEI, a spiritual successor to MIAMI CONNECTION which I love. Highly recommended so far.
October 9, 2014
1986 was obviously the year when Hip Hop was at it’s peak because that is when the Karate Rap was released. Don’t step to these two because apparently “karate means never having to say you’re sorry”. If you watched this and thought, “I need more!!” you are in luck. Amazingly enough they still had more awesomeness to share and created a full length movie called Sister Sensei. You’re welcome or I’m sorry…whichever applies.