U.S. Filmmaker Randy Dies Takes Unconventional Release Route for UK-Filmed Thriller Sublime

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. filmmaker Randy Dies is choosing to challenge the traditional independent film release model with his socially conscious thriller Sublime, a UK-filmed feature set for a public four-chapter YouTube rollout.

Filmed in the United Kingdom and developed in conjunction with Guy Mayfield at Dallarby, Sublime marks Dies’ first international feature, bringing together a UK setting, an international cast, and a story centered on corporate power, public dependency, and control.

The film stars Teon Kelley, who appeared as Q in the horror-crime film Bitch Ass, and Alfie Browne-Sykes, best known for playing Jason Roscoe on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks.

At the center of Sublime is Goliath, a powerful UK-based global corporation, and its mass-market energy drink, Sublime. On the surface, the drink promises energy, performance, and focus. Beneath that public image, the film explores a darker question: what happens when a company designs a product not only to be consumed, but to create dependency, influence behavior, and control ordinary people?

Rather than keep the film held back while following the traditional route of festivals, sales agents, streamers, and distributors, Dies is preparing a direct-to-audience rollout designed to build awareness and audience engagement in real time. The feature will be divided into four installments, released approximately three months apart:

Sublime: Chapter One — The Drink

Sublime: Chapter Two — The Control

Sublime: Chapter Three — The Resistance

Sublime: Chapter Four — The Awakening

The release is intended to turn the film into an ongoing event rather than a one-time upload, allowing audiences to follow the story over time while giving each chapter its own marketing moment.

For Dies, the strategy reflects the theme of the film itself. Sublime is about resisting systems of control, and the filmmaker sees the release plan as an extension of that message. Instead of allowing traditional release pathways to dictate when, where, and how audiences can see the film, Dies is choosing to bring it directly to viewers.

“After speaking with Guy and our investors, we kept coming back to the same point: movies are becoming more and more locked behind a paywall, and cinema tickets are climbing to a point where, for many people, it can feel closer to the cost of a concert ticket than a casual night out,” said Dies. “After a successful run on the festival circuit, we wanted to bring Sublime directly to the people. This is a thriller about a ruthless company getting regular people addicted to its product — in this case, an energy drink — and I felt the message was important enough that people should be able to see it without the film first existing behind a paywall.”

The chaptered rollout also arrives at a time when independent filmmakers are increasingly exploring alternative ways to build audiences outside traditional distribution. YouTube and direct-release platforms have allowed creators to test interest, build followings, and prove demand before larger industry partners enter the picture.

For Sublime, the direct release could help introduce audiences to a larger story world. The film’s central concept — a global corporation using an energy drink as a tool of dependency and control — gives it both a thriller hook and a social message. It also opens the door to potential continuation, including a broader international story-line.

“This is not just a movie about an energy drink,” Dies added. “It is about control, trust, and whether people can still resist systems that are designed to make them dependent. In many ways, that idea also influenced how we chose to release the film. We wanted people to have access to the story without immediately putting it behind a paywall or allowing traditional systems to determine who gets to see it and when.”

As a Michigan-based filmmaker bringing a UK-shot feature to the public, Dies is positioning Sublime as both an international independent achievement and the beginning of a larger franchise direction. Traditional distribution conversations may continue in parallel, but the chaptered YouTube release gives the film a path to begin building its audience immediately.

The first installment, Sublime: Chapter One — The Drink, is expected to launch on YouTube as the opening chapter of the four-part rollout.

About Silverwing Entertainment

Silverwing Entertainment is an independent production company led by filmmaker Randy Dies, focused on developing and producing film and television projects across genre, thriller, drama, and commercial entertainment.

Media Contact:

Mel Appleton

DMZ PR

Instagram: @dmzprofficial