This story was created in paid partnership with DePaul University.
The trailer for Waiting for the Light to Change, an independent feature film produced entirely through DePaul University’s Indie Studio, opens on a wistful scene: five friends run excitedly out of a worn down prius in an open field at dusk while on their way to a weeklong winter getaway at a secluded lake house, where the group negotiates the existential tumult of their early twenties.
Created as the latest release from DePaul’s Indie Studio—an in-house program dedicated to helping students navigate the film industry’s dynamic digital landscape—the film serves as Mfa Directing Graduate Linh Tran’s directorial debut and impressively features an all-student cast and crew. Since its premiere at the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival, Waiting for the Light to Change has made tremendous waves, including winning the festival’s Grand Jury Prize—a distinction that no film written,...
The trailer for Waiting for the Light to Change, an independent feature film produced entirely through DePaul University’s Indie Studio, opens on a wistful scene: five friends run excitedly out of a worn down prius in an open field at dusk while on their way to a weeklong winter getaway at a secluded lake house, where the group negotiates the existential tumult of their early twenties.
Created as the latest release from DePaul’s Indie Studio—an in-house program dedicated to helping students navigate the film industry’s dynamic digital landscape—the film serves as Mfa Directing Graduate Linh Tran’s directorial debut and impressively features an all-student cast and crew. Since its premiere at the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival, Waiting for the Light to Change has made tremendous waves, including winning the festival’s Grand Jury Prize—a distinction that no film written,...
- 10/30/2023
- by Eda Yu
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has acquired North American VOD rights to the dramatic feature film Waiting for the Light to Change — the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner for Best Narrative Feature.
The pic premiered at the Heartland International Film Festival in October, screened at the Chicago Critics Film Festival in May and just had its West Coast premiere in Los Angeles at Dances With Films this week. Freestyle Digital Media is planning a fall release date. Watch the new trailer below.
Waiting for the Light to Change follows five twentysomethings who gather for a weeklong spring getaway at a lake house in Michigan. But with little to do in the small town, everyone finds themselves dealing with the sort of malaise that happens in one’s early- to mid-20s: growing older, establishing a career, finding a purpose in life,...
The pic premiered at the Heartland International Film Festival in October, screened at the Chicago Critics Film Festival in May and just had its West Coast premiere in Los Angeles at Dances With Films this week. Freestyle Digital Media is planning a fall release date. Watch the new trailer below.
Waiting for the Light to Change follows five twentysomethings who gather for a weeklong spring getaway at a lake house in Michigan. But with little to do in the small town, everyone finds themselves dealing with the sort of malaise that happens in one’s early- to mid-20s: growing older, establishing a career, finding a purpose in life,...
- 6/29/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
“Dear Zoe,” the coming-of-age drama starring “Stranger Things” actress Sadie Sink, has been acquired by Byron Allen’s Freestyle Digital Media and will hit theaters and digital platforms on Nov. 4, 2022.
Sink stars as Tess, a young woman grappling with the immeasurable and shattering death of her younger sister, Zoe (Mckenzie Noel Rusiewicz). As her mother (Jessica Capshaw), stepfather (Justin Bartha) and sister (Vivien Lyra Blair) each grieve in their own ways, Tess seeks support from two outsiders: her biological father, Nick (Theo Rossi) and Jimmy (Kweku Collins), a juvenile delinquent who lives in the neighborhood.
Directed by Gren Wells (“The Road Within”), “Dear Zoe” was scripted by Marc Lhormer (“Bottle Shock”) and Melissa Martin (“A Wedding For Bella”) based on the novel by Phillip Beard. Lhormer and Brenda Lhormer produced for their company Zin Haze Productions.
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“This...
Sink stars as Tess, a young woman grappling with the immeasurable and shattering death of her younger sister, Zoe (Mckenzie Noel Rusiewicz). As her mother (Jessica Capshaw), stepfather (Justin Bartha) and sister (Vivien Lyra Blair) each grieve in their own ways, Tess seeks support from two outsiders: her biological father, Nick (Theo Rossi) and Jimmy (Kweku Collins), a juvenile delinquent who lives in the neighborhood.
Directed by Gren Wells (“The Road Within”), “Dear Zoe” was scripted by Marc Lhormer (“Bottle Shock”) and Melissa Martin (“A Wedding For Bella”) based on the novel by Phillip Beard. Lhormer and Brenda Lhormer produced for their company Zin Haze Productions.
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Maria Bakalova Comedy ‘The Honeymoon’ Lands US Release From Grindstone Entertainment
“This...
- 7/21/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Dear Zoe, a drama film starring Sadie Sink (Stranger Things), has been acquired by Byron Allen’s Freestyle Digital Media and is set to be released in select theaters and on demand beginning November 4, 2022.
Adapted from Philip Beard’s award-winning novel of the same name, director Gren Wells, and written by
Marc Lhormer and Melissa Martin is produced by Zin Haze Productions’ Brenda Lhormer and Marc Lhormer.
Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy), Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy), Justin Bartha (The Hangover), Vivien Lyra Blair (Obi-Wan Kenobi), and rapper, songwriter, and producer Kweku Collins, round out the cast.
Dear Zoe follows Tess (Sadie Sink), her mother Elly (Jessica Capshaw), stepfather David (Justin Bartha), and little sister Emily (Vivien Lyra Blair) in the aftermath of the unimaginable loss of Tess’s other little sister, Zoe (Mckenzie Noel Rusiewicz). Struggling with a sea of emotions, Tess embarks on a journey where she finds...
Adapted from Philip Beard’s award-winning novel of the same name, director Gren Wells, and written by
Marc Lhormer and Melissa Martin is produced by Zin Haze Productions’ Brenda Lhormer and Marc Lhormer.
Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy), Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy), Justin Bartha (The Hangover), Vivien Lyra Blair (Obi-Wan Kenobi), and rapper, songwriter, and producer Kweku Collins, round out the cast.
Dear Zoe follows Tess (Sadie Sink), her mother Elly (Jessica Capshaw), stepfather David (Justin Bartha), and little sister Emily (Vivien Lyra Blair) in the aftermath of the unimaginable loss of Tess’s other little sister, Zoe (Mckenzie Noel Rusiewicz). Struggling with a sea of emotions, Tess embarks on a journey where she finds...
- 7/19/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Just in time for SXSW, Byron Allen’s Digital Freestyle Releasing has promoted Bill Vergos to Head of Digital Film Distribution. He had been VP Operations & Sales since 2015.
In his new post, Vergos will continue to oversee operations and sales for Freestyle Digital Media’s slate of digital film releases and movie library. Based at Amg HQ in Los Angeles, he also will continue to head up film sales and distribution to cable/satellite transactional platforms.
A 20-year industry veteran, Vergos has more than 30 film and TV credits including Catch Me If You Can, Rocky Balboa and The Shaggy Dog. He also served as Director of Product Management and Production at Vdi Entertainment, where he managed and oversaw all content for the independent DVD publishing, marketing and sales organization with distribution in 25 countries.
“Bill Vergos is a highly valued member of our digital film distribution team,” said Allen, founder, chairman...
In his new post, Vergos will continue to oversee operations and sales for Freestyle Digital Media’s slate of digital film releases and movie library. Based at Amg HQ in Los Angeles, he also will continue to head up film sales and distribution to cable/satellite transactional platforms.
A 20-year industry veteran, Vergos has more than 30 film and TV credits including Catch Me If You Can, Rocky Balboa and The Shaggy Dog. He also served as Director of Product Management and Production at Vdi Entertainment, where he managed and oversaw all content for the independent DVD publishing, marketing and sales organization with distribution in 25 countries.
“Bill Vergos is a highly valued member of our digital film distribution team,” said Allen, founder, chairman...
- 3/11/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to Michael Parks Randa and Lauren Smitelli’s inclusive musical romancer Best Summer Ever after a SXSW festival premiere.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Benjamin Bratt have cameo roles in the feature shot with a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities.
“Freestyle Digital Media is proud to be a part of the North American release of Best Summer Ever. This innovative, free-spirited take on the teen musical genre is great viewing for audiences of all ages,” Freestyle’s vp of operations and sales Bill Vergos said in a ...
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Benjamin Bratt have cameo roles in the feature shot with a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities.
“Freestyle Digital Media is proud to be a part of the North American release of Best Summer Ever. This innovative, free-spirited take on the teen musical genre is great viewing for audiences of all ages,” Freestyle’s vp of operations and sales Bill Vergos said in a ...
- 3/19/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to Michael Parks Randa and Lauren Smitelli’s inclusive musical romance Best Summer Ever after a SXSW festival premiere.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Benjamin Bratt have cameo roles in the feature shot with a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities.
“Freestyle Digital Media is proud to be a part of the North American release of Best Summer Ever. This innovative, free-spirited take on the teen musical genre is great viewing for audiences of all ages,” Freestyle vp operations and sales Bill Vergos said in a statement.
The ...
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Benjamin Bratt have cameo roles in the feature shot with a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities.
“Freestyle Digital Media is proud to be a part of the North American release of Best Summer Ever. This innovative, free-spirited take on the teen musical genre is great viewing for audiences of all ages,” Freestyle vp operations and sales Bill Vergos said in a statement.
The ...
- 3/19/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Exclusive: Byron Allen’s Freestyle Digital Media has picked up the North American rights to the road trip buddy comedy She’s in Portland and will release it on digital, cable, and satellite platforms on September 25. Marc Carlini directed the film from a screenplay he co-wrote with Patrick Alexander. Tommy Dewey, Francois Arnaud, and Minka Kelly star.
The film, which had its world premiere at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, follows a family man who, after recognizing that his best friend from college is in a slump, convinces him to travel up the California Coast in search of “the one that got away.”
Carlini and Jeremy Alter produced the pic.
“This film started as my reflection on the bigger life choices my friends and I struggled with in our thirties. As our careers and our relationships went in different directions, the common thread among us was whether we made the right decisions.
The film, which had its world premiere at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, follows a family man who, after recognizing that his best friend from college is in a slump, convinces him to travel up the California Coast in search of “the one that got away.”
Carlini and Jeremy Alter produced the pic.
“This film started as my reflection on the bigger life choices my friends and I struggled with in our thirties. As our careers and our relationships went in different directions, the common thread among us was whether we made the right decisions.
- 8/17/2020
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Grasshopper Film has announced the acquisition of all U.S. distribution rights to Michael Almereyda’s new documentary “Escapes,” a dynamic portrait of Hampton Fancher, executive produced by Wes Anderson. “Escapes” will open in theaters this summer followed by a VOD and Home Video release in the fall.
“Escapes” showcases the storytelling talents of Hampton Fancher, flamenco dancer, film and TV actor, and the unlikely producer and screenwriter of the landmark sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” as well as screenwriter on the upcoming sequel “Blade Runner 2049.” Fancher’s running commentary – with a little help from Philip K. Dick and Ridley Scott – works in concert with extensive archival footage as Fancher relates death-defying escapades from a remarkable life.
– Grasshopper Film has announced the acquisition of all U.S. distribution rights to Michael Almereyda’s new documentary “Escapes,” a dynamic portrait of Hampton Fancher, executive produced by Wes Anderson. “Escapes” will open in theaters this summer followed by a VOD and Home Video release in the fall.
“Escapes” showcases the storytelling talents of Hampton Fancher, flamenco dancer, film and TV actor, and the unlikely producer and screenwriter of the landmark sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” as well as screenwriter on the upcoming sequel “Blade Runner 2049.” Fancher’s running commentary – with a little help from Philip K. Dick and Ridley Scott – works in concert with extensive archival footage as Fancher relates death-defying escapades from a remarkable life.
- 3/10/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Beacon Pictures has tapped Adam Ripp and Steven Wolfson to write the screenplay for Serial for producers Charlie Lyons of Beacon and Arnold Rifkin of Cheyenne Entertainment for a low-six figure. Ripp also will direct the film, which is described as a psychological horror thriller. The project was brought to Elsie Choi at Cheyenne by James Choi of Karma Entertainment. Lyons and Rifkin will produce, with Sheldon Brigman, Bill Vergos and James Choi serving as co-producers. Ripp and Wolfson wrote Gang Tapes for Lions Gate, which Ripp helmed. They also created, wrote and executive produced the drama pilot Hollywood Vice for Fox 21 and Fox Broadcasting, which Ripp directed.
- 8/18/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Beacon Pictures has tapped Adam Ripp and Steven Wolfson to write the screenplay for Serial for producers Charlie Lyons of Beacon and Arnold Rifkin of Cheyenne Entertainment for a low-six figure. Ripp also will direct the film, which is described as a psychological horror thriller. The project was brought to Elsie Choi at Cheyenne by James Choi of Karma Entertainment. Lyons and Rifkin will produce, with Sheldon Brigman, Bill Vergos and James Choi serving as co-producers. Ripp and Wolfson wrote Gang Tapes for Lions Gate, which Ripp helmed. They also created, wrote and executive produced the drama pilot Hollywood Vice for Fox 21 and Fox Broadcasting, which Ripp directed.
- 8/17/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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