FREESTYLE DIGITAL MEDIA ACQUIRES

“BENEATH THE FOLD” FOR OCTOBER RELEASE

Newspaper-Themed Noir Crime-Drama Sets Digital Debut for North American
VOD Platforms and on DVD on October 8, 2024

Los Angeles, CA – September 11, 2024  Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has acquired North American VOD rights to journalism-themed noir crime-drama BENEATH THE FOLD, which will be available to rent/own on all North American digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms, as well as on DVD, starting on October 8, 2024.

In the vein of the classic 1957 movie 12 ANGRY MEN, BENEATH THE FOLD tells a gritty story about the dying days of print media, which takes place entirely within the conference room of a financially struggling upstate New York newspaper at the height of the 2007-2009 recession. The plot involves a team of local news people who cope with the realities of a changing world, waning resources, and a clash of personalities. The time and circumstances are detrimental to the staff in all ways but one–unbeknownst to them, their managing editor was involved in a hit-and-run, and their lack of resources gives him hope he can escape justice not only by the police but by his reporters. As the journalists attempt to investigate the accident that left a special needs man in critical condition, their editor tries to block their pathways to reporting on what he conveys to them as a relatively minor story. Will they uncover one of their own as the guilty? Or bury the lead?

BENEATH THE FOLD was written and directed by Neil Thomas Kirby, a former upstate New York reporter. Kirby’s first feature film, it was produced by Nathan Kirby, Neil Thomas Kirby, and Rishi Gandhi. The ensemble cast features Emmy-winning writer, comedian, and actor Jamie Lee (HBO’s CRASHING, TED LASSO), Scott Cohen (THE PENGUIN, BILLIONS, GILMORE GIRLS), Frederick Weller (BLACKKKLANSMEN, CAUSEWAY) and Jelani Alladin (THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND, and FELLOW TRAVELERS - nominated for a Golden Globe for best limited series). Rounding out the cast is Nick Dillenburg (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, FLY ME TO THE MOON), Max Garfin (from the upcoming YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER starring Academy Award-winner J.K. Simmons), Dorcas Sowunmi (THE BLACKLIST), and Chris Lindsay-Abaire (LAW AND ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT & SVU).

“The antagonist is not a corrupt politician or a criminal enterprise, but time and resources—a fact of 21st-century reporting that has yet to be fully explored on film,” said filmmaker Neil Thomas Kirby. “Audiences are going to be astonished and moved when they see the compelling performances by these wonderful actors.”

Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire BENEATH THE FOLD directly with Glen Reynolds Circus Road Films.