ASCEND INTO ZION was conceived in the summer of 2005 by dub-reggae artist/muay thai boxer Dr. Israel and writer/director John Kraljevich. Seeking to incorporate not only the music and experiences of Dr. Israel's career and life, but also the continuing phenomenon of cultural merger and economic division, they created the feature length script for a post-globalization rastafarian fight film. Happy with their idea, they decided the best way to prepare for the the project, and the task of raising funds, was to shoot a scene from the screenplay. So during a particularly cold late november weekend in between tours, they invaded the old McCarren Pool in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with the help of many friends, to lens their first collaboration. Time and tours passed until ASCEND was first shown in October of 2006 to a packed Tribeca screening room, where it came to the attention of Palm Pictures for inclusion in their Videos On Demand channel on Comcast Cable. Encouraged by this success, Johnny and Doc continue to seek interest and funds to complete a feature length version of ASCEND INTO ZION.