The 2019 deadCenter Film Festival brought in a number of notable indie films, but perhaps our most anticipated was The Art of Self-Defense from writer/director Riley Stearns and Bleeker Street.



The official synopsis for The Art of Self-Defense reads:



The dark comedy The Art of Self-Defense stars Jesse Eisenberg and is set in the world of karate. Eisenberg plays a man who is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself.







This dark comedy exploring karate culture, toxic masculinity and the cycles of violence debuted at the SXSW 2019 film festival to huge critical acclaim. The film is scheduled for a July 12 wide-release.



Writer/Director Riley Stearns joined The Cinematic Schematic after the film festival to talk more about what inspired him to make a movie about karate, why he decided to explore such timely themes, and how he assembled his all-star trio cast of Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, and Alessandro Nivola.



Special Guest











Guest: Riley Stearns



Writer/Director of The Art of Self-Defense



Follow Riley on Twitter @RileyStearns















Follow The Cinematic Schematic Podcast



Hear all of this and more of our past and future episodes by subscribing to The Cinematic Schematic on your preferred podcast app and leaving us a rating on Apple Podcasts!



Like The Cinematropolis on Facebook



Follow The Cinematropolis on Twitter and Instagram @thecinematrop