EXCLUSIVE: Up-and-coming producers Justin Steele and Micah Molinari have joined forces to launch Drama Free Films, a Los Angeles-based indie production company, backed by a private financing group helmed by executive producer Natalie Kline.
The company is targeting genre pictures in the under-$10M market, with an emphasis on keeping its productions in the U.S. Its leadership team will also include Amanda Konis, who serves as CFO.
“We at Drama Free are proud to be collaborating to develop high-quality, budget-friendly films with broad audience appeal,” said Steele. “Our goal has always been to establish the kind of environment where filmmakers are meaningfully supported from the ground up. We look forward to building a venture that is bold, adaptable, and deeply collaborative, while continuing to champion distinctive, unexpected stories.”
Drama Free opens with three features slated for release in 2026. Their flagship release will be Miami Nights, an action thriller that follows two war heroes who are discharged without honor after saving a famed American journalist overseas. As they struggle to settle back into civilian life, they collide with local criminals in a deadly scheme to steal a priceless diamond. Directed by Steele, the film stars Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven, Jeremy Sumpter, Sydelle Noel, Manu Bennett, and Thomas Jane.
In post-production is The Leader, a historical crime thriller inspired by the story of the infamous cult known as Heaven’s Gate that committed the largest mass suicide to ever take place on American soil. The film is written and directed by Michael J. Gallagher (Funny Story) and stars Vera Farmiga and Tim Blake Nelson as the leaders of the suicide cult, as well as Jim Parsons and Simon Rex.
Also in post is Cipher, a thriller written and directed by Tony Giglio (Doom: Annihilation). Pic centers on a renowned author who loses his wife and is left a paraplegic when he comes into possession of a supernatural typewriter with the power to fulfill his deepest desires. Howard again leads the cast, in this case co-starring Paula Patton, Britt Robertson, and Joel David Moore.
John Lewis, who currently has a first look deal with Platinum Dunes, has partnered with the company on the three-picture slate.
