The organizers of Actionfest, the first film festival devoted to shoot-’em/kick-’em/chase-’em film fare, have annouced the first round of movies confirmed for their initial event, which takes place Thursday-Sunday, April 15-18 in Asheville, NC. While most of the flicks are devoted to gunplay, martial arts and the like, there are a few titles in there with specific Fangorian appeal.

Actionfest, which will take place at the Carolina Asheville Cinema (1640 Hendersonville Road), is highlighted by personal appearances by Chuck Norris (who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award) and his director brother Aaron Norris, accompanying rare big-screenings of CODE OF SILENCE and BRADDOCK: MISSING IN ACTION III, and an opening-night showing of CENTURION, the latest from THE DESCENT’s Neil Marshall.

There will also be world premieres of Fouad Mikati’s OPERATION: ENDGAME (a.k.a. ROGUES GALLERY), starring Zack Galifanakis, Rob Corddry, Ving Rhames, and Emile De Raven, Robert Lieberman’s THE STRANGER, with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and Isaac Florentine’s UNDISPUTED III: REDEMPTION, pitting Scott Adkins against Marko Zaror. Three features will have their North American premieres: Daniel Lee’s Donnie Yen/Sammo Hung vehicle 14 BLADES, João Daniel Tikhomiroff’s capoeira drama BESOURO and Rashane Limtrakul’s Thai girl-fighting movie RAGING PHOENIX. Finally, there will be U.S. premieres of Krissanapong Rachata’s POWER KIDS, about martial-arts tykes battling terrorists (trust us, you don’t want to miss this one!) and HK veteran Johnnie To’s VENGEANCE, starring Johnny Hallyday.

On a more horrific—and comic—note, Actionfest will host the regional premiere of Eli Craig’s TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL, in which REAPER’s Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk play backwoods yokels mistaken for psycho killers by a group of vacationing college kids. There’s also VALHALLA RISING, from BRONSON’S Nicholas Winding Refn, a Viking epic with supernatural overtones, and a retrospective showing of WAKE IN FRIGHT (a.k.a. OUTBACK), Ted Kotcheff’s borderline-horrific study of a civilized man going crazy in the Australian Outback.

A bunch more movies and guests have been announced with more to come, so head over to the Actionfest site linked above for more details and updates.

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