After Sofia’s husband is brutally murdered during a terrestrial invasion, she asks her local sensei to train her in the art of self defense.

‘Yellow Belt Fury’ might sound like a kick ass little action short, but it’s way crazier than that (and it kicks ass!). Katherine Hughes completely obliterates her first directing experience with a furious redefinition of the revenge montage and action sci-fi shorts. Starring Melanie Rains as Sofia, who seeks revenge to the aliens who murdered her husband by asking her local Sensei (Charlotte Taschen) to teach her the art. Yellow Belt is as far as she needs to go.

Can you tell us what inspired you to bring this story to life?

As this was my first go at directing, I wanted to make sure it represented all of the genres I aspire to direct. I wrote it to include romance, sci-fi, and action comedy.

How did you go about casting Melanie and Charlotte? Was a Karate Yellow Belt pre-requisite?

I wrote the short specifically for Melanie Rains, who is an incredible martial artist in both Kenpo Karate and Taekwondo. I reached out to friends in search of my alien and was introduced to Charlotte Taschen. She is a black belt in Taekwondo and luckily also a super talented actress.

This story is pretty wild and unpredictable. Did you stick to your script all the way through or was there some improvisation along the way?

The dialouge in the final cut stuck to the script. What differed was my fight sequence originally written as EPIC FIGHT SEQUENCE – MAYBE VFX IF WE CAN AFFORD IT. Luckily, Alfred Hsing (stunt choreographer) Dean Hughes (editor), and Christian Klien (DP) all helped me craft an amazing sequence that is infinitely better than the original description.

What was the most challenging scene for you to film?

The most challenging scene was the fight sequence, purely because of the time commitment and detail it took to piece the puzzle together.

Do you have any tips or advice to offer fellow filmmakers?

I don’t have any advice at the moment because I am still learning so much. I will say don’t spend hours on the internet looking for an alien heart to cover in goo because everyone will just think it’s an avocado.

What are your favorite short films?

Some recent favorites are Fishboy by Anita Bruvere and Mary Maid by Amber Neukum.

Which films you can say directly inspired this film?

The films that inspired Yellow Belt Fury were House by Nobuhiko Obayashi and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by Edgar Wright (my hero).