Award-winning Social Justice Documentary Feature Debuts on North American VOD Platforms on May 5th
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, May 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has just released the social justice documentary THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT — now available to rent/own on North American digital HD internet, cable, DVD and satellite platforms starting May 5, 2026.
What does it mean to be a survivor? Generations of children are left with this question in the wake of abuse suffered at the hands of the Troubled Teen Industry, an unregulated network of for-profit institutions claiming to fix wayward teenagers. Decades later, they are taking their power back. Filmed over the course of nine years, THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT is a haunting examination of institutional abuse following three families’ journeys as they pursue healing in the absence of justice and fight to hold abusers accountable in a system built on silence.
Directed by Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Mikaela Shwer, THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT won the Audience Choice Award at its premiere at Dances with Films New York in 2024 and has won multiple audience, director, and jury awards on its festival run.
Produced by Shwer, Alana Maiello, Robyn Kopp, Kimberly Stuckwisch, and Kate Logan, THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT was executive produced by Carlos López Estrada and Neil Garvey. The documentary was co-executive produced by Bradley and Arianna Shwer, and John Henry Hinkel and Andrew Ostapchenko at Liaison Pictures. Interview subjects featured include Liz Lanelli, Cadilina DeVille, and Cynthia Clark Harvey.
“While the story of the controversial Troubled Teen Industry carries the hallmarks of a true crime story–abuse, deception, and greed–the heart of THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT is the survivors: voices buried for decades yet still fighting the people and systems that failed them as children,” said filmmaker Mikaela Shwer. “Having the opportunity to not only witness these important stories but also now amplify them to a wider audience is an incredible honor.”
Freestyle Digital Media negotiated a deal to acquire THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT directly with the filmmakers.
THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT website: https://www.thekidsarenotalrightdoc.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 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 – THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT (2026)
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