This is likely to be my first festival Roadtrip of 2011, a mere dozen hours or more from Toronto to Asheville, North Carolina, where the worlds first film festival dedicated to action movies, the aptly titled ActionFest, is kicking off its sophomore year with a collection of strange and unusual ways for people to be punched, thrown off of buildings and shot. Co-founded and operated by Chuck Norris’ stuntman brother, Aaron and programmed in 2011 by Midnight Madness and TIFF programmer, Colin Geddes, expect it to be stretching the boundries of what you think of as an action movie while paying homage to the classics (Cannon, Golan-Globus we still heart you!) and the stunt folks behind the mayhem. The festival runs April 7th-10th.

ActionFest 2’s Opening Night film on Thursday, April 7th is Ironclad, an epic, blood-soaked account of a brutal castle siege starring Paul Giamatti, James Purefoy, Derek Jacobi, Brian Cox, Charles Dance and Jason Flemyng.

Other confirmed new titles include:

Little Big Soldier — a new period action film written by and starring Jackie Chan;
Hobo With A Shotgun — the hot Sundance selection starring Rutger Hauer;
Super — vigilante madness starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon and Liv Tyler;
Bangkok Knockout — Thai action from the stunt team and filmmakers of Ong Bak;
Outrage — a gritty and violent new Yakuza thriller from the legendary Takeshi Kitano;
Bunraku — a surreal fist-and-sword epic starring Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Kevin McKidd, and Ron Perlman;
Machete Maidens Unleashed — the titillating story of 70s exploitation films from the Philippines.

The full lineup will be announced on Monday, March 22nd, followed by the screening schedule.

More details from the Action Fest Press Release (Stunt Show! Stunt Show!) are tucked under the seat.

This year’s ActionFest Lifetime Achievement Award will go to legendary stuntman Buddy Joe Hooker, whose career spans six decades and countless classic films, including First Blood and Deathproof.

ActionFest 2 will honor 2010’s Machete from director Robert Rodriguez as Action Film of the Year, singling out the talented Russell Towery (Pirates of the Caribbean, Zombieland, Jonah Hex, National Treasure) as Stunt Coordinator of the Year for his impressive work on the film.

Additionally, ActionFest 2 will pay tribute to the 40th anniversary of Stunts Unlimited, an elite organization comprised of Hollywood’s A-list stunt performers (including original member Buddy Joe Hooker), which has become one of the most sought after group of action performers. Their work has been seen in a wide array of film and television including Die Hard, Fast and the Furious, Mission Impossible 2, Point Break, Rocky, Spider-man and The Terminator.

Undoubtedly one of the top highlights of ActionFest, the Stunt Show Extravaganza will return for ActionFest 2. This year’s show promises to be a spectacle not to be missed, and has been made possible by motion picture stunt business veteran John Cann (Machete, Tango and Cash, Predator 2), President and CEO of Action P.A.C. Stunts, L.L.C., who is creating the show and providing the equipment along with Randy Fife (Robocop, Arlington Road).