Claim: Birth of the Dragon's principal photography began in a seaport city.

Birth of the Dragon is a 2016 American biopic martial arts action film directed by George Nolfi and written by Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele . The film stars Philip Ng , Xia Yu , and Billy Magnussen . The true story revolves around the young martial artist Bruce Lee , who challenges kung fu master Wong Jack Man in 1965 in San Francisco . Principal photography began on November 17 , 2015 in Vancouver . It was selected to be screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival . The film is scheduled to be released on August 25 , 2017 by BH Tilt and WWE Studios .