FREESTYLE DIGITAL MEDIA RELEASES SPORTS DOCUMENTARY “TORCHED–THE STORY OF THE AUSTIN TORCH”

Sports Documentary Sets Digital Debut for North American VOD Platforms on August 20, 2024

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, August 20, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has just released the sports documentary TORCHED–THE STORY OF THE AUSTIN TORCH, which is now available to rent/own on all North American digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms, starting on August 20, 2024.

TORCHED–THE STORY OF THE AUSTIN TORCH is the award-winning feature documentary directorial debut of Austin-based musician-turned-filmmaker Hoag Kepner. The film received top honors at the 2023 Reel East Texas Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film and Best Director (Documentary), and also the Audience Award at Dances With Films New York in 2023. The film tells the story the Austin Torch, a fiery group of female and non-binary athletes in Austin, Texas who try to professionalize their fringe sport of Ultimate Frisbee in a historically male-dominated sports industry. This documentary follows several members of the Austin Torch team from its inception in 2018 through its 2022 comeback season. These team members include an overextended team president and player struggling to balance the demands of her dream with her new marriage; a corporate sales manager frustrated by her mundane job who seeks thrills in the do it-yourself nature of growing a team and a sport; a fourth grade teacher intent on popularizing the Torch with her theatrical, brash playing style; and an unlikely male ally named "Bonesaw" whose past career as the frontman of a touring band positions him perfectly for a role as Torch co-founder and an advocate for women's/non-binary sports. As we follow the Torch during an entire season, one thing becomes clear: the Austin Torch might not always win, but somehow, they never lose. It's more than a team; it's a movement.

Written and directed by Hoag Kepner, TORCHED–THE STORY OF THE AUSTIN TORCH was produced by Taylor Lukof, Philip Lee, Steffan Stroud, Kim Walker, Mark Udis, Bonesaw Kepner, and Megan Hart. The featured ultimate frisbee principles include Annie Ortiz, Rachel Yeager, Elise Bjork, Jaime Estes, and Tim “Bonesaw” Kepner.

"Like the team itself, the film’s goal is simple: to take a crowbar and pry open the doors of opportunity for girls and women the world over; in any industry, not just sports,” said director Hoag Kepner. “The people that inspire me the most, not just as a filmmaker but as a human being, are the people that decide to do something even though there are so many 'reasons not to'. I hope people watch this film and it encourages them to go for it; do that thing you've always wanted to do but thought was impossible."

Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire TORCHED–THE STORY OF THE AUSTIN TORCH directly with the filmmakers.

TORCHED–THE STORY OF THE AUSTIN TORCH trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=blEhexVz9G0

TORCHED–THE STORY OF THE AUSTIN TORCH website: www.torcheddoc.com

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 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. Other Freestyle Digital Media titles include BEST SUMMER EVER the teen musical 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, THE WEDDING YEAR starring Sarah Hyland and Anna Camp, THE LAST PHOTOGRAPH starring Danny Houston, UNTOGETHER starring Jamie Dornan, Jemima Kirke, Ben Mendelsohn, Alice Eve and Billy Crystal, the action-comedy BETTER START RUNNING starring Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons and Maria Bello, THE BACHELORS starring Academy Award-winner J.K. Simmons, Julie Delpy and Odeya Rush and the award-winning documentary HONDROS produced by Jamie Lee Curtis and Jake Gyllenhaal.

For more information, visit:
www.allenmedia.tv
www.freestyledigitalmedia.tv

Contact:

Brian Geldin
Brian Geldin Public Relations
brian@briangeldin.com

Eric Peterkofsky
Allen Media Group / Freestyle Digital Media
eric@es.tv