Project Sifu: Martial Arts Cinema, Embodied Research, and Youth Empowerment
Film Screening and choreography workshop with Dr Wayne Wong, Lecturer in East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield.
How might martial arts cinema be understood not only as a cinematic genre, but also as a method for research, pedagogy, and public engagement? This event introduces Project Sifu, a research-led film and participatory initiative that brings together martial arts cinema, embodied learning, and collaborative filmmaking to explore questions of identity, belonging, cultural memory, and youth empowerment. Developed through workshops with students and young people in the UK, Project Sifu asks how screen culture can move beyond representation to become a form of embodied and creative practice.
The event will include a screening of Project Sifu 2 (Wayne Wong, 2026), followed by a discussion with Dr Wayne Wong on martial arts cinema, embodied spectatorship, practice-based research, and the development of the project. The screening and discussion will be accompanied by a short participatory martial arts workshop, inviting attendees to explore some of the embodied principles underpinning the project through simple movement exercises. No previous martial arts experience is required. The workshop offers an opportunity to experience how ideas encountered on screen can be translated into bodily practice, opening up a broader conversation about martial arts as a mode of self-cultivation, social connection, and creative learning. Project Sifu has been presented internationally, including at UNESCO-ICM in South Korea, the 64th Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development in New York, and events in Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Australia and London.
About the speaker
Dr Wayne Wong is a Lecturer in East Asian Studies at the University of Sheffield and Lead of Project Sifu. His research focuses on martial arts cinema, screen aesthetics, embodiment, digital media, and Hong Kong cultural production. He is the author of Martial Arts Ecology: Aesthetics, Philosophy, and Cinematic Mediation (Edinburgh University Press, 2026). His current research and public engagement work explore the intersections between film, embodied practice, youth engagement and community collaboration.
Please note that you can view Project Sifu (2025) here: Project Sifu (Wayne, Wong 2025)
Event Location: Room G15, Chandler House, UCL
2 Wakefield Street, London WC1N 1PF
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Highlights
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- In person
Location
Room G15, Chandler House (UCL)
2 Wakefield Street
London WC1N 1PF
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