FREESTYLE DIGITAL MEDIA RELEASES TOP PRIZE TRIBECA WINNER 'CHARLIEBIRD'
Freestyle Digital Media has just released CHARLIEBIRD -- now available to rent/own on digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms, as well as on DVD, starting March 31, 2026
Now Available on North American VOD Platforms Starting on March 31, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, March 31, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has just released CHARLIEBIRD -- written by and starring Samantha Smart, and the directorial debut of Libby Ewing. The debut feature has been embraced at international and domestic film festivals, winning top jury honors at both the Tribeca and the SCAD Savannah film festivals. Freestyle had recently released the movie in U.S. theaters, including New York and Los Angeles. CHARLIEBIRD is now available to rent/own on digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms, as well as on DVD, starting March 31, 2026
Co-starring Gabe Fazio (Is This Thing On?) and Maria Peyramaure (Ferdinand), CHARLIEBIRD follows Al (played by screenwriter Smart), a music therapist at a children’s hospital who takes things day by day and tries to make ends meet. Then, teenager Charlie (newcomer Gabriela Ochoa Perez) enters Al's life as a patient. The revelation of a secret passion project brings both Al and Charlie strength and support as they face the future.
CHARLIEBIRD was shot in 14 days in the Houston, Texas area with cinematography by Luca Del Puppo, A.I.C. (Slender Man), production design by Emily Mingyue Li, editing by Perry Blackshear & Libby Ewing, and costume design by Ashley Brown. The score is by composer Jon Eckaus (The Man in the Attic), and the music supervisor is James Cartwright. Smart and Ewing produced the movie with Elliot Gipson.
Upon its premiere earlier this year at the Tribeca Festival, the feature won the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature and the Best Performance in the U.S. Narrative Feature award, given to Ochoa Perez. The jury praised it as "a deeply affecting portrait featuring grounded and complex performances” that marked “an assured and well-crafted debut.” The film also won Best Narrative Feature at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the Best Narrative Jury Award at the Coronado Island Film Festival, and, most recently, the Marcello Petrozziello Award at the Lucca Film Festival. Recent screenings include the Mill Valley Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Houston Cinema Arts Festival, and Tribeca Lisbon.
Director, producer, and editor Libby Ewing said, “The team at Freestyle has been incredible champions of CHARLIEBIRD from the very beginning. They have a deep understanding of the film’s vision, heart, and soul, so it was a natural alignment for our team. I am thrilled to be partnering with them to bring CHARLIEBIRD to a wide audience. It is an honor to share this film with the world, and we are grateful to be on this journey with the folks at Freestyle.”
Actress, producer, and screenwriter Samantha Smart added, “We are so grateful to be working with Freestyle. Very aware of the current landscape for independent cinema, we are humbled to have the chance to distribute our film. Freestyle has championed us since Tribeca, and we love that they are supporting female voices. We look forward to being able to share this in theaters and reach as many people as possible."
Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire CHARLIEBIRD with Glen Reynolds of Circus Road Films on behalf of the filmmakers and production companies The Smart Space and Art Brut Films. Libby Ewing is repped by UTA.
CHARLIEBIRD website: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17045782/
ABOUT FREESTYLE DIGITAL MEDIA
The digital distribution unit of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, satellite, digital, and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record, and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films. Recent releases include ALLSWELL IN NEW YORK starring Emmy award-winning actress Liza Colón-Zayas from the hit FX series THE BEAR, ALL HAPPY FAMILIES starring Josh Radnor and Rob Huebel, the drama based on a novel THE GHOST TRAP starring Zak Steiner from EUPHORIA and Greer Grammer of AWKWARD, and the Weekly World News horror-comedy THE ZOMBIE WEDDING. Other Freestyle Digital Media titles include THE ROAD DOG starring comedian Doug Stanhope, SURVIVE starring HBO’s GAME OF THRONES star Sophie Turner and Corey Hawkins, the music documentary profiling blues guitar legends Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray Vaughan, BROTHERS IN BLUES, DEAR ZOE starring Sadie Sink from the hit Netflix series STRANGER THINGS, Jessica Capshaw and Theo Rossi, the teen musical BEST SUMMER EVER featuring a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities, produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary Steenburgen, and Ted Danson, and THE WEDDING YEAR starring Sarah Hyland and Anna Camp.
For more information, visit:
www.allenmedia.tv
www.freestyledigitalmedia.tv
Eric Peterkofsky / Sarah Madden
Allen Media Group/Freestyle Digital Media
Eric@es.tv / Sarah.Madden@es.tv
Official FDM Trailer - CHARLIEBIRD (2026)
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