NEW YORK, March 3rd, 2011 – Film Annex (www.filmannex.com), online film distribution company, is proud to sponsor The New York Open Team Championship scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 6th, 2011 at the New York Athletic Club, located at 180 Central Park South on the 6th floor. The tournament action will begin at 1 pm, semi-finals at 3 pm, and finals at 6 pm. The tournament has been organized differently this year with the goal that it will be the most exciting and action-packed event in the history of judo, hosting DJs as well as high-profile names from the entertainment industry, such as acclaimed filmmaker Abel Ferrara and his distinguished guests. The announcers will be Carrie Chandler, former world team member and the winner of 28 gold medals, and Meghan Arena, a Team Force member, hoping to make it to the Junior World Team this year.

Team Judo is said to be one of the most intriguing tournaments to watch in the world, giving fans the opportunity to show support for their favorite country. The spectators will watch a showdown of Canada, Germany, Italy, and USA, accompanied by DJ Larush's tracks and mixes. A Brooklyn native, Larush is a resident DJ at China One, Falucka, Le Souk, and Flute. His high energy mix of beats invigorates all crowds, and he usually plays a mix of Pop, disco, 80s, House, Reggae, R&B, and Rock. For the New York Judo Open Team Championship, DJ Larush will put together a unique mix, specially created for the athletes, the sport of judo and its values.

The athletes will be interviewed by two New York City models, Vanessa Ratnavich (www.vanessaratnavich.com) and Te'ara Kai (www.tearakai.com) at the end of each match. Born in Bangkok, Ratnavich acts in television commercials in addition to walking in high profile runway shows. Te'ara Kai sings and performs with her band while leading a successful modeling career. At the New York Open Team Championship, some of the best looking athletes in the world will come together with the most attractive models in New York.

Each team consists of five athletes in the following weight divisions: 66 kg, 73 kg, 81 kg, 90 kg and over 90 kg. The winning team will receive a $2,000 prize as well as a coveted champion's plaque to proudly bring back to their native country. In the first round, Team USA will face Team Italy, and Team Canada will face Team Germany. The competition will be in a five-man team format where each team member will fight two matches with the opposing team, and the team with the best of 10 matches advances.
Film Annex will be filming the tournament and the weigh-ins to create videos for the athletes and the tournament at large. The videos will appear on www.judoarts.com, a web channel dedicated to the sport of judo, featuring content from all genres, including documentaries, narrative clips, interviews, and more. Tickets can be purchased for $25 at the door, free for kids 15 years old and under. For more information, visit www.newyorkopenjudo.com.

About Film Annex

Film Annex is an online film distribution platform and Web Television Network with 220,000 registered users and over 1.5 million viewers a day. The company creates free Web TV channels for content providers and supports them financially through an ad-revenue sharing model. A meeting point for filmmakers, film festivals, film enthusiasts, companies, and organizations, Film Annex educates and entertains audiences by making meaningful, diverse, and high- quality films available to a global audience. For more information, visit www.filmannex.com.

About DJ Larush

A native of Brooklyn, Mark LaRush's roots in NYC began with performing at clubs such as DeVille, Boucarou, Tonic, Belmont Lounge, Suzie Wong, Guest House, Gates, Marquee, Juliet, Aspen Social and many more. He is now proud to be the resident DJ at China One, Falucka, Le Souk, and Flute. His high energy mix of beats invigorates all crowds listening. He generally plays a mix of Pop, disco, 80‘s, House, Reggae, Hip Hop, R&B, and Rock. In addition to his work in NYC clubs and lounges, Mark LaRush also performs for all private events needing a DJ including weddings, fashion events, and parties for all occasions. Mark Larush is currently working on music production and DJ‘ing internationally.

About Vanessa Ratnavich

Vanessa who is of Thai and Filipino decent was born in Bangkok, Thailand and moved to Southern California at age two. Growing up in San Diego, Vanessa loved the beach and playing sports. To pursue her modeling career she quickly moved to Los Angeles right after high school. With the guidance of her mother agency, Nous Model Management, she quickly began traveling and spent the next two years in Asia. While living in Asia Vanessa built her portfolio, began acting in television commercials, and walked the runways of many major fashion designers. With the experience under her belt Vanessa returned to Los Angeles and soon after moved to New York City. Vanessa currently lives in Manhattan with her dog, Wolverine.

About Teara Kai

Te'ara Kai is a native New Yorker where she still resides. She models with Major Model Management, and is also the lead singer of a Rock Band, YJLK (Young Jimmy & Lady Kai). Te'ara started singing and performing at a very young age. Her musical background includes Classical, Jazz, Gospel, R&B/Soul, and Musical Theatre. Some of her most proud moments to date include singing for NY Governor Pataki in 6th grade, for the inauguration of NY Mayor Bloomberg in 2002, singing background with her HS choir for her favorite artist Whitney Houston in 2003, and of course forming her band, YJLK. Teara's band has played shows all over New York City at popular venues including Uncle Mike's, Don Pedro's, The Delancey, and the list goes on. The goal is to eventually becoming a household name and travel the world playing their music.

About Judo

Judo debuted as an official Olympic sport in 1964 and is practiced by millions of people throughout the world today. The discipline of Judo is a Japanese martial art and combat sport that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Best known for stunning throws, Judo also involves much grappling on the ground like wrestling, using controlled holds, pins and arm locks. Judo, translated as "gentle way," teaches balance, leverage and flexibility in performing throws and other skills, and helps to develop complete body control and fast reflexive action. Skill, technique and timing, rather than brute strength, are the essential ingredients for success in this sport. Worldwide, over 20 million people practice judo, with all age groups, both sexes and disabled persons all able to participate in learning and practicing in the sport.

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