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Exclusive: Utopia’s arthouse distribution label, Circle Collective, has acquired U.S. rights to Pools, a coming-of-age film, starring Odessa A’zion (A24’s upcoming Marty Supreme), which marks the feature debut of writer-director Sam Hayes.

After taking home the Audience Award in its world premiere at SXSW Sydney 2024, and going on to sell out its North American premiere at TIFF Next Wave, the film has been set to open at the Music Box in Chicago on August 22, followed by the Quad Cinema in New York and the NuArt in Los Angeles on August 29. A nationwide expansion will follow on September 5.

Pools dives into the chaotic life of Kennedy (A’zion), a rebellious college student who has one day to get her life together or face expulsion. Rather than conform, she recruits a misfit crew for a spontaneous night of pool hopping through the lavish backyards of her college town. What...

Exclusive: Xolo Maridueña (Blue Beetle) and Leah Lewis (Matlock) have wrapped production on Dog Years, an indie romance marking the feature debut of writer-director Mary Bronaugh.

Shot just outside Chicago, the film follows two former best friends who unexpectedly meet up in their hometown seven years after admitting they were in love. Reunited for one exhilarating night, they break into their old high school and question whether they would upend their lives to be together now.

“Dog Years is a very personal story about how the people we love shape us, even if they can’t stay in our lives,” Bronaugh said. “Working with Leah and Xolo has been a total joy. Every day, I was humbled by their passion and dedication to the story and team. I’m so excited for people to see the depth, brilliance, and humor they brought to these characters.”

Last year, the Dog Years...

In the last thirteen months, we’ve seen two different time travel slashers, Totally Killer and Time Cut, get streaming service releases. Now, Deadline reports that Alliance Media Partners is representing the world sales rights for a time travel supernatural thriller called You Don’t Belong Here at the American Film Market, which is currently going on in Las Vegas. Totally Killer starred Kiernan Shipka from the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Time Cut starred Madison Bailey from the Netflix series Outer Banks and Antonia Gentry from the Netflix series Ginny & Georgia, so it seems fitting that the lead role in You Don’t Belong Here went to another Netflix star – Nikki Roumel, who co-stars with Gentry on Ginny & Georgia.

The feature directorial debut of Chris McGowan, You Don’t Belong Here follows a group of amateur crime solvers as they take a trip to an infamous...

Exclusive: Alliance Media Partners (Amp) had taken world sales rights on the supernatural thriller You Don’t Belong Here from filmmaker Chris McGowan.

Amp will be selling the film AFM in Las Vegas.

The film follows a group of amateur crime solvers as they take a trip to an infamous campsite to investigate an unsolved murder. When the group wakes up the next morning, they find themselves in 1991, days before the murder took place, with a mysterious killer on the loose.

The film stars Nikki Roumel (Ginny & Georgia), Shane Weat (A Walk to Remember), Cameron Cowperthwaite (Fallout), Chibuikem Uche (One Of Us Is Lying), Destiny Hernandez (Chicago Med), Ilirida Memedovski (Perpetrator), Major Curda (Riverdale), and Samuel Roukin (Turn).

The film was shot on location in Illinois with a SAG- AFTRA interim agreement during the strike. Producers are Sterling Beaumon of Sterling Silver Pictures, alongside Seth Savoy, Mike D. Ware, Yajaira Marie,...

Stars: Dallas Hart, Kara Royster, Pedro Correa, Cassandra Scerbo, Chris O’Neal, Ana Osorio | Written by Amanda Ashley Mies, Ana Osorios | Directed by Dame Pierre, Mike Ware

If you’re going to have an Amp House Massacre, first you need to have an Amp House. Mario Stillwell, the biggest YouTube influencer in the world, provides that. Having made millions with his videos, he buys a mansion for himself and Janelle and dubs it Amp House.

Now they, along their entourage of famous for being famous internet celebrities including, Hunter, Tiffany, and Lonnie have a place they can use for filming all their obnoxious videos, of which we see as seemly never ending montage of leading up to a lavish first anniversary party. A party that ends with Mario floating face down in the pool, dead from an overdose. And then another montage of tribute videos following it. This may be the...

Exclusive: American rugby union is going under the doc series spotlight.

The sport’s North American professional league, Major League Rugby (Mlr), has struck a deal with indie film financier and producer Goldfinch to produce an all-access, multi-year series that’s been billed as an “unprecedented ten-year commitment.” This will chronicle the sport’s growth and development in the U.S.

Filming on the first season, Stars, Stripes and Scrums: The American Rugby Journey (working title) is underway and will focus on the Chicago Hounds team, while also exploring the sport at all levels across the States.

All-access sports team docs have been one of the big trends in unscripted over recent years, with international rugby union featured in Netflix’s Six Nations: Full Contact last year and the English league the subject of Prime Video’s Mud, Sweat and Tears: Premiership Rugby in October.

In the U.S., where American football is king,...

Jen and Tyler used to have it all: a solid marriage, a nice home, and careers that promised a bright future. But when Tyler’s drinking problem worsens, and his writer’s block continues, the debt collectors show no mercy, forcing the couple out of their home and into their car.

Beyond stressed, exhausted, and overwhelmed with feelings of failure, Jen and Tyler park their car in a vacant lot, hoping to get a good night’s sleep before dealing with the realities of tomorrow. However, their sleep becomes interrupted by homeless passersby, mischievous local kids, and eventually, ominous strangers in harrowing masks.

Writer/director Jason Miller carefully crafts a riveting, slow-burn thriller that delves deep into the psychological depths of a crumbling marriage stuck in the middle of nowhere. Ghosts Of The Void exposes the fragility of the human psyche in the face of adversity, while leaving audiences to...

Writer/Director Jason Miller’s feature debut, Ghosts of the Void, presents a haunting look the American Dream or, more accurately, the fragility of it. A brand new trailer gives a closer look at the grim horror.

Ghosts of the Void releases on Digital and VOD on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

In the film, “Jen and Tyler used to have it all: a solid marriage, a nice home, and careers that promised a bright future. But when Tyler’s drinking problem worsens, and his writer’s block continues, the debt collectors show no mercy, forcing the couple out of their home and into their car. Beyond stressed, exhausted, and overwhelmed with feelings of failure, Jen and Tyler park their car in a vacant lot, hoping to get a good night’s sleep before dealing with the realities of tomorrow. However, their sleep becomes interrupted by homeless passersby, mischievous local kids, and eventually,...

This exclusive trailer for the horror film Ghosts of the Void reveals a story of a homeless woman battling exhaustion, a failing marriage, and masked strangers. Filmmaker Jason Miller drew inspiration from personal struggles to create a low-budget, powerful story that portrays the challenges many face in pursuit of the American dream. Ghosts of the Void, Miller's debut feature, promises to provide audiences with a thrilling and thought-provoking experience while exploring the fine line between reality and the supernatural.

This exclusive trailer for the upcoming horror film Ghosts of the Void teases a terrifyingly isolated tale as a newly homeless woman wrestles with exhaustion, her crumbling marriage, and the threat of mysterious, masked strangers. Ghosts of the Void comes courtesy of writer/director Jason Miller, who aims to craft a riveting, slow-burn thriller that delves deep into the psychological depths of a crumbling marriage stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Exclusive: Shane West (A Walk to Remember) and Nikki Roumel (Ginny & Georgia) are currently in production in Illinois on You Don’t Belong Here, a supernatural thriller from director Chris McGowan, which has been granted a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement.

The film written by Martin Bartlett follows a group of amateur crime solvers as they take a trip to an infamous campsite to investigate an unsolved murder. When the group wakes up the next morning, they find themselves in 1991, days before the murder took place, with a mysterious killer on the loose.

Seth Savoy, Mike D. Ware and Sterling Beaumon are producing alongside Yajaira Marie and Patrick Ryan Richter. Rock River Studios is the production company. Rounding out the cast are Cameron Cowperthwaite (Dahmer), Chibuikem Uche (One Of Us Is Lying), Destiny Hernandez (Chicago Med), Ilirida Memedovski (Perpetrator), and Major Curda (Riverdale).

Best known for films like A Walk to Remember and shows like ER,...

UTA Independent Film Group handles North America.

Jackrabbit Media has boarded international sales rights and will show first footage at TIFF this week from the coming-of-age film Pools starring Odessa A’Zion from Hellraiser, Ariel Winter from Modern Family, and Mason Gooding from the Scream franchise.

Michael Vlamis (Roswell: Nm) and Tyler Alvarez (American Vandal) round out the key cast on writer-director Sam Hayes’s story about a group of college students at summer school who embark on a pool-hopping adventure and learn about themselves along the way.

Mark Padilla, president of worldwide sales and acquisitions at Jackrabbit Media, will present footage.

Sales roster includes Amp House, Bone Cold, The Brink Of, Burden.

Giulia Prenna is attending Mipcom with the sales arm of her Mind The Gap Productions to kick off talks on a slate of five features led by Keoni Waxman’s rom-com The Modelizer.

The Los Angeles-based producer of 2021 SXSW drama The Fallout with Shailene Woodley launched the sales division during the pandemic and attended Cannes Marché with the new venture for the first time. She will bring the sales slate to the AFM at the start of November.

The Modelizer centres on a wealthy Hong Kong bachelor who only...

Exclusive: Francesca Noel has joined the cast of the indie feature Pools. She joins Odessa A’zion, Michael Vlamis, Tyler Alvarez and Ariel Winter.

Written and directed by Sam Hates, Pools follows Kennedy (A’zion), who is stuck at summer school after flunking her sophomore year of college. Amidst a heat wave, she rallies a ragtag crew for a pool-hopping adventure through the wealthy estates of Lake Forest, on the north shore of Chicago. But as the secrets spill, a wild night of fun becomes a cathartic journey of self-discovery. Noel will play the role of Shane, a girl hungry for life as she is naive. She’s a quintessential picture of youth 0 new to the world and ready to dive headlong into it. Pools’ producers are Adonis Tountas, Jack Heston, Mike Ware and Seth Savoy. Noel made her lead premiere in the title role of Juliet in Romeo & Juliet R#J,...

Exclusive: Ariel Winter (Modern Family) and Mason Gooding (Booksmart) have joined the cast of the indie feature Pools, which begins production in Chicago later this month.

They’ll star opposite previously announced cast members Odessa A’zion (Grand Army), Michael Vlamis and Tyler Alvarez (American Vandal).

Written and directed by Sam Hayes, Pools follows Kennedy (A’zion), who is stuck at summer school after flunking her sophomore year of college. Amidst a heat wave, she rallies a ragtag crew for a pool-hopping adventure through the wealthy estates of Lake Forest, on the north shore of Chicago. But as the secrets spill, a wild night of fun becomes a cathartic journey of self-discovery.

Winter will play Delaney, who is one to stir the pot, and becomes the focal point of a love triangle. The character plays tough and always knows how to win, but she really just wants her best friend back.

Saban Films has released the first trailer for Echo Boomers. This is the feature directorial debut of Seth Savoy, which has Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon toplining the cast alongside Patrick Schwarzenegger. Described as a "gripping crime-thriller filled with pulse-pounding twists and turns," this looks to be a tense count and mouse heist flick, based on what we're seeing in this initial footage.

The trailer opens with an ominous shot of a hallway while some voice over sets up the conflict at hand, which has to do with millennials and their financial struggles. We then follow Patrick Schwarzenegger's character who manages to get tangled up with an emerging criminal organization. They have sort of a Robin Hood complex. Though, in this case, the poor they are giving to is themselves. Michael Shannon is behind this gang and a conflict emerges between him and the group's newest member. Aside from the action, there...

Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Seth Savoy’s directorial debut “Echo Boomers” ahead of its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, the company announced on Thursday. The film stars Patrick Schwarzenegger, Alex Pettyfer, Oliver Cooper, Hayley Law, Gilles Geary, Lesley Ann Warren, and Michael Shannon.

The crime-drama was written by Savoy, Kevin Bernhardt and Jason Miller in his writing debut. Miller also produced alongside Speakeasy’s James Langer, Mike Ware, Matthew G. Zamias, Lucas Jarach, Kelly Mi Li, Jeff G. Waxman and Wetzel Entertainment Group’s Byron Wetzel and Sean Kaplan.

“Echo Boomers” centers on a group of disillusioned twenty-somethings, who use Chicago as their playground by breaking into the homes of its richest citizens, stealing from the rich and giving to themselves.

Bill Bromiley and Jonathan Saba brokered the deal for Saban Films along with Fortitude International’s Nadine de Barros on behalf of the filmmakers.

Saban Films has acquired the North American distribution rights to Seth Savoy’s directorial debut “Echo Boomers” ahead of the launch of the Toronto film market.

The crime drama stars Patrick Schwarzenegger, Michael Shannon, Alex Pettyfer, Hayley Law, Lesley Ann Warren (“Jobs”), and Oliver Cooper (“Californication”).

The film follows a group of disillusioned twenty-somethings, who use Chicago as their playground by breaking into the homes of its wealthiest citizens, stealing from the rich and taking for themselves.

Savoy wrote the script with Kevin Bernhardt, and Jason Miller. Miller is also producing alongside Speakeasy’s James Langer, Mike Ware, Matthew G. Zamias, Lucas Jarach, Kelly Mi Li, Jeff G. Waxman and Wetzel Entertainment Group’s Byron Wetzel and Sean Kaplan.

“We are thrilled to be working with Seth Savoy in his directorial debut. This is a wild tale brought to life by an all-star cast at their best. The film will keep audiences on their toes,...