Nick Verdi’s Sweet Relief indie thriller film gets a theatrical run | Trailer
Sweet Relief written and directed by up and coming filmmaker Nick Verdi will have a one week theatrical run at Laemmle Encino Town Center and will be available on premium VOD exclusively on Eventive on June 27, before a wider VOD release later in the year.
Starring in the film are Alisa Leigh, B.R. Yeager, Adam Michael Kozack, Lucie Rosenfeld, Jocelyn Lopez, Catie DuPont and Paul Lazar in a standout performance as Mr. McDaniel. The film had a successful festival run, screening at Chattanooga Film Festival, Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival (PUFF), Another Hole in the Head, and Sale Horror Fest, among others.
In the film, parents and teachers in a small New England town are in a panic over kids playing Sweet Relief, an online murder challenge in which the player must nominate someone they’d like to see die. Three teenagers play the game as a joke, unaware of the dire consequences awaiting them.
Meanwhile, Jess and Nathan are a bored, millennial couple struggling to get by. Nathan is annoyed with his mother, and Jess is annoyed with Nathan. Jess’ curiosity and boredom lead to a dangerous situation of her own, when she meets Gerald, a confidential police informant and perhaps, a sadistic child killer.
What starts out as a slow burn gains momentum as seemingly unrelated characters and storylines begin to interweave until the shocking, explosive climax in this arthouse thriller.
Sweet Relief will be distributed as the first feature film from new label, Art Brut Films. Tribeca Award-Winning producer Elliot Gipson (Charliebird) launched Art Brut Films in 2023 to develop, produce, distribute and sell truly independent cinema.
Watch the teaser trailer for Sweet Relief.
Mathew Embry’s Help Is On The Way documentary released (FREE) on Youtube | Trailer
Help Is On The Way, the new documentary from filmmaker Mathew Embry (Living Proof, Painkiller: Inside the Opioid Crisis) brings urgent attention to the global crisis of energy poverty.
Help Is On The Way will be released free to the public on YouTube through Muster Point Productions starting on June 20, 2025.
Spanning regions from the Peruvian Andes and the Canadian Arctic, the film follows personal journeys from a group of remarkable individuals on the frontlines of energy justice:
Kevin Quillahuaman, a Peruvian guide offering unfiltered access to communities living without electricity.
Kalista McNabb, a Canadian student helping bring solar power to rural Peru.
Pavneet Cheema, a fellow volunteer whose experiences in India fuel her advocacy for energy justice.
Mykola Pelikov, a Ukrainian filmmaker and refugee whose perspective is shaped by war and displacement.
Blaine Chislett, an Inuk energy advocate working to reduce diesel dependency in Nunavut.
Aaron Cohen, the Executive Director of Light Up The World, who leads the effort to bring sustainable energy and connectivity to off-grid regions.
“We made this film to shine a light on an issue that affects billions of people but is rarely talked about,” says Director Mathew Embry. “Energy isn’t just about power, it’s about life. Without it, children die. Dreams die. But with it, the impossible becomes possible.”
Restored Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth released in theaters | Trailer
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth, originally released in the US in 2010, opens in a new 4K restoration on June 20th in New York City at the IFC Center and on June 21st in Los Angeles at the American Cinematheque.
Dogtooth is a psychological dark comedy that won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
In an effort to protect their three children from the corrupting influence of the outside world, a Greek couple transforms their home into a gated compound of cultural deprivation and strict rules of behavior. But children cannot remain innocent forever. When the father brings home a young woman to satisfy his son’s sexual urges, the family’s engineered “reality” begins to crumble, with devastating consequences.
Watch the 4 restoration trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth.