LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, November 15, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has just released the Slamdance Film Festival breakout film DARUMA — executive produced by two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Farrelly and directed by Alexander Yellen (Z-NATION). DARUMA is now available to rent/own on all North American digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms, as well as on DVD, starting November 15, 2024.
Concurrent with its digital VOD release, DARUMA will enjoy a limited theatrical run starting November 15th in five U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Minneapolis.
DARUMA tells the story of Patrick (Forrest), who discovers he has a daughter as the result of a forgotten fling before becoming paralyzed. He takes the girl, Camilla (newcomer Victoria Scott), with the promise of a payout only to quickly learn that he can’t parent her as she needs. He then enlists the help of his cantankerous neighbor Robert (Lawson) to take her to live with her maternal grandparents on the other side of the country. Along the way discovers the redemption he’s been seeking his entire life and resolves to better himself so that he can be the father that his daughter deserves.
Per CNN, DARUMA is the first narrative film in U.S. cinematic history to star two authentically cast leads with disabilities in a narrative, not about overcoming a disability. Both leads, Tobias Forrest (a C-level quadriplegic) and John W. Lawson (a double-hand amputee) have won acclaim for their performances, with
Forrest nabbed the ‘Reeve Acting Award’ at the 2023 Media Access Awards and Lawson won ‘Best Actor’ at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City last January.
Written by Kelli McNeil-Yellen, DARUMA was directed by Alexander Yellen and produced by Kelli McNeil-Yellen, Alexander Yellen, and Jodi Binstock. Two-time Academy Award-winner Peter Farrelly served as Executive Producer. The ensemble cast features Abigail Hawk (‘Anna’), Barry Bostwick (‘Horace’), Sandi McCree (‘Maxine’), Kelli McNeil-Yellen (‘Kaitlin’) and Joy Nash (from DIETLAND).
“Making DARUMA has been a profoundly moving and rewarding experience,” says director Alexander Yellen, who also served as the film’s cinematographer. “We’re grateful to the numerous people, festivals, and organizations who came with us on this journey because they saw the immense value and potential of a project like this.”
“We’re excited to partner with Freestyle to bring DARUMA to audiences this fall,” says writer/producer Kelli McNeil-Yellen. “We have been working on this movie for years and the deep commitment we’ve seen from the Freestyle team lets us know they’re the right partners for our North American launch.”
“We knew we had to have this title the moment we saw the sold-out screening at Slamdance,” says Bill Vergos, Head of Digital Film Distribution at Freestyle Digital Media. “I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm for a film at that particular festival than what I saw with DARUMA. It’s such a unique and beautiful film that not only serves the most historically underrepresented market in the U.S., but tells a story that everyone can relate to, one about friendship, fatherhood, and found family.”
Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire DARUMA with Sean Pope of Ramo Law.
DARUMA website: www.DarumaMovie.com
Eric Peterkofsky
Allen Media Group / Freestyle Digital Media
eric@es.tv
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