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Press releases // the desk

The press releases desk

Every release the campaign sends, already written and dated to the event it announces — announcement, the Italian festival on 2 October, the trailer embargo, premiere night on Friday 13 November and release day. Plus the kits that travel with them and a written answer for every question press will ask.

// ITALIAN FESTIVAL PRESS PLAN

Italy, Friday 2 October 2026 — the first audience anywhere.

Italian Film Festival — the first public screening of THE AWAKENING anywhere, six weeks before the November release.

7 days out · 0/8 checklist items done

Week by week

  1. 4 weeks out — w/c 7 Sept

    Accreditation and embargo pitch out

    Festival press office confirms carpet positions and press-line slots. Embargoed pitch goes to Italian and pan-European trades with the screening date and the interview window.

  2. 3 weeks out — w/c 14 Sept

    Screeners to trade and territory

    Watermarked screener links to Italian critics and pan-European trades under review embargo until the screening ends. Subtitle file checked and locked.

  3. 2 weeks out — w/c 21 Sept

    Interview slots booked

    Justin's availability published: in-person on the day, remote the week before, Italian-language via interpreter on request. Slots assigned outlet by outlet.

  4. 1 week out — w/c 28 Sept

    Assets and run-of-show out

    Festival stills set, two clip cutdowns, carpet run-of-show and press-line schedule sent to everyone accredited. Photographer and Q&A moderator confirmed.

  5. Screening day — Fri 2 Oct

    Capture, press line, release live

    Carpet and Q&A captured. Release goes live as the credits roll; same-night stills and clips to accredited press within two hours.

  6. Day after — Sat 3 Oct

    Follow-up and review sweep

    Reviews collected and logged in the press inbox. Every outlet that attended gets the stills pack plus a one-line thank-you and the premiere date.

Checklist — tap to move it on

  • Festival accreditation confirmed
  • Screener links delivered
  • Italian subtitle file checked
  • Photographer booked
  • Q&A moderator confirmed
  • Red-carpet capture crew set
  • Review embargo agreed in writing
  • Press-line schedule circulated

What Justin brings

  • Justin Tinto — in person on 2 October, remote the week before, Italian-language via interpreter
  • Cast availability on the press line after the screening
  • Watermarked screener under review embargo
  • Festival stills set and two clip cutdowns cleared for editorial use
  • Unseen behind-the-scenes footage — exclusive, one outlet per territory

Ready copy

Desks covering the territory (5)

Screen International

UK/Europe · UK

First public screening in Italy on 2 October, buyers watching.

Ask: Festival screening piece plus sales-status line.

RAI Cinema desk

Culture · Italy

First public screening anywhere happens in Italy.

Ask: Screening coverage and press-line interview.

Corriere della Sera

Spettacoli · Italy

British trilogy chooses Italy for its world debut.

Ask: Interview on 2 October.

la Repubblica

Cinema · Italy

Independent British cinema debuting at an Italian festival.

Ask: Screening review and interview.

Cineuropa

News · Europe

Direct-to-audience release model for a European independent.

Ask: News piece plus sales status.

// START FROM A TEMPLATE

Blank press release template

Need a release that isn't in the timeline yet? Open the template, fill the title, date, quote and media kit link, then copy or download the finished release.

Open template

// RELEASE TIMELINE, WIRED TO THE CALENDAR

Eight releases, eight dates, nothing improvised.

Each release sits on the same date as the event it announces, so what goes out to press and what happens in the room can never drift apart. Tap a stage to move it forward — nothing can reach Sent until it carries Justin's approval tick.

  1. Fri 18 Sep · 2026-09-18

    Announcement — the film, the trilogy and the date

    THE AWAKENING — first film of the Break The System trilogy — sets a November 2026 release

    Open page
    • Milestone · Premiere venue hold confirmed

    Desks: Trade press · National film desks · Digital / culture

  2. Fri 25 Sep · 2026-09-25

    Independent studio disruption at Pinewood

    Made at Pinewood without a studio: how THE AWAKENING was financed, shot and released outside the system

    Open page
    • Milestone · Westminster permissions filed

    Desks: Trade press · Business desks · Film-making press · Podcasts

  3. Fri 2 Oct · 2026-10-02

    Italian Film Festival — first public screening

    THE AWAKENING screens in Italy — first public showing ahead of its November release

    Open page
    • Milestone · EPK + creator kit published
    • Press · Festival press line
    • Screening · Festival screening + Q&A

    Desks: Trade press · Italian press · Festival press office

  4. Tue 20 Oct · 2026-10-20

    Trailer drop — embargoed first look

    Watch: the first trailer for THE AWAKENING

    Open page

    Desks: Digital / culture · Trade press · Film YouTube channels

  5. Thu 29 Oct · 2026-10-29

    13 Masked Men — London takeover and AR scavenger hunt

    Thirteen masked men will appear across London — and each one hides a piece of THE AWAKENING

    Open page
    • Milestone · Masked Man transmission drop

    Desks: London press · Broadcast · Digital / culture · Lifestyle and listings

  6. Thu 5 Nov · 2026-11-05

    Ensemble cast and the origin of the trilogy

    THE AWAKENING assembles Peter Stormare · Alice Eve · Justin Tinto · Eddie Hall · Steven Berkoff · Julian Glover · with Matt Hookings and Kevin Spacey — the first chapter of a three-film story

    Open page

    Desks: Trade press · National press · Digital / culture

  7. Fri 13 Nov · 2026-11-13

    Premiere night — London, Friday 13 November

    THE AWAKENING premieres in London on Friday 13 November

    Open page
    • Premiere · Potential premiere — Friday 13 November
    • Premiere · Premiere night — London
    • Screening · London premiere + red carpet

    Desks: Broadcast · National press · Trade press · Digital / culture

  8. Fri 20 Nov · 2026-11-20

    Release day — the film goes wide, chapter two confirmed

    THE AWAKENING is out — and chapter two of the trilogy is confirmed

    Open page

    Desks: National press · Digital / culture · Podcasts

Open the event calendar

// RELEASE COPY, READY TO SEND

Announcement — the film, the trilogy and the date

For immediate release · Fri 18 September 2026

THE AWAKENING — first film of the Break The System trilogy — sets a November 2026 release

Independent conspiracy thriller written by and starring Justin Tinto, with Peter Stormare · Alice Eve · Justin Tinto · Eddie Hall · Steven Berkoff · Julian Glover · with Matt Hookings and Kevin Spacey, launches alongside a free global audience movement.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — THE AWAKENING, the opening film of a planned trilogy, will be released in November 2026. Written by and starring Justin Tinto and directed by Matt Routledge, the film is a conspiracy thriller, action and cultural curiosity built independently, filmed in the United Kingdom, and released directly to its audience.

THE AWAKENING takes place during a global pandemic following Jason and Rebecca who uncover a conspiracy to control the world after Jason's parents suddenly disappear. They attempt to expose the truth in a race against time to save humanity before it's too late. Awakening 1 is designed as a complete standalone feature, while also offering clear franchise potential.

The ensemble is led by Peter Stormare · Alice Eve · Justin Tinto · Eddie Hall · Steven Berkoff · Julian Glover · with Matt Hookings and Kevin Spacey. Behind the camera the film brings together director of photography László Bille, editor Chris Gill and special effects supervisor Graham Povey.

Against the odds Justin Tinto wrote, financed, produced, and starred in Awakening, sacrificing time, money, and security to bring a story to life that asks a dangerous question: "What if the world we were taught to believe… was never the truth?" This trilogy was not born inside a studio system. Ten years in the writing, self-financed, and made without a studio greenlight — the first film of three.

Trailer, stills, cast credits and the full electronic press kit are available at https://breakthesystem.world/epk. Anyone can join the free community at https://breakthesystem.world. Interview and screener requests go through the PR desk.

“I stopped waiting for permission. I wrote it, I financed it, I cast it, and now the audience gets it first — not a committee.”
— Justin Tinto, writer, producer and lead

###

Open in mail

// DRAFT PRESS KITS

Five kits. Copy one, attach it, send.

Open the media kitJustin's bio, quotes cleared for print, the trailer, full cast and key crew — plus the downloadable PDF.

One-sheet fact pack

Attach to every press email. Answers the questions a desk asks before it commits.

THE AWAKENING
THE AWAKENING takes place during a global pandemic following Jason and Rebecca who uncover a conspiracy to control the world after Jason's parents suddenly disappear.

Title: The Awakening
Status: Complete
Delivery: July 2026
Genre: Conspiracy thriller, action and cultural curiosity
Format: Feature film · Awakening 1 is a complete standalone feature with clear franchise potential
Language: English
Production company: Camelot Films
Director: Matt Routledge
Writers: Justin Tinto, Matt Routledge, Matt Hookings
Producers: Matt Hookings, Tim Kent
Associate producer: Luke Croft-Faulkner
Executive producers: Alice Eve, Sally Woodward, Adrian Goodisman
Music by: Steffan Thum
Edited by: Chris Gill and Alex Fenn
Production designer: Nina Topp
Director of photography: László Bille
Special effects supervisor: Graham Povey (World War Z)
Franchise: The Awakening — complete · The Awakening II — script · The Awakening III — in development
The Awakening II: Production budget $10M · shooting May 2026 · in association with Camelot Films
Website: breakthesystem.world

Full EPK: https://breakthesystem.world/epk

Synopsis pack — short and long

For listings, festival programmes and features. Never rewrite; copy as-is.

SHORT
THE AWAKENING takes place during a global pandemic following Jason and Rebecca who uncover a conspiracy to control the world after Jason's parents suddenly disappear. They attempt to expose the truth in a race against time to save humanity before it's too late. Awakening 1 is designed as a complete standalone feature, while also offering clear franchise potential.

LONG
THE AWAKENING takes place during a global pandemic following Jason and Rebecca who uncover a conspiracy to control the world after Jason's parents suddenly disappear. They attempt to expose the truth in a race against time to save humanity before it's too late. Awakening 1 is designed as a complete standalone feature, while also offering clear franchise potential. The Awakening taps into a growing global appetite for stories that explore power, truth, institutional secrecy, and the individual's struggle against hidden systems. In the post pandemic landscape, audiences have shown increased engagement with alternative history thrillers, secret society narratives, technology, AI and surveillance themes, and institutional distrust and moral ambiguity. This shift is evident across cinema, premium television, and streaming, where audiences are actively seeking content that feels provocative, challenging, and reflective of current anxieties without requiring overt political positioning. The Awakening sits at the intersection of conspiracy thriller, action, and cultural curiosity, offering both entertainment value and conversation-driven appeal.

Angle sheet — five stories, five desks

Pick the angle that matches the desk. One angle per email, never all five.

FILM / FEATURES — The independent creator who cast icons — and skipped the studio
Justin Tinto wrote THE AWAKENING, plays its lead, and assembled Peter Stormare, Alice Eve, Kevin Spacey, Eddie Hall and Steven Berkoff around it without a studio greenlight. A story about how an independent trilogy gets built in 2026.

BUSINESS / MEDIA — A new era of film distribution: the audience as the release strategy
Instead of a traditional rollout, the film launches through a community — email list, ambassadors, a cast whose combined reach exceeds 25 million followers. What happens when the movement is the marketing budget.

CULTURE / OPINION — Break The System: the paranoia thriller made for an audience that already suspects
A conspiracy thriller released into a moment of collapsed trust. Interview on why the genre is having a resurgence and how the film handles it responsibly.

ENTERTAINMENT / INTERVIEWS — The ensemble: why eight name actors said yes to an independent script
Cast-led feature built from the collaboration angle — each actor on the character that made them sign, from Stormare's Mason to Eve's Rebecca.

MARKETING / MEDIA — The Masked Man transmission — a marketing beat that behaves like a story beat
On 29 October the campaign drops a masked-figure transmission that continues the film's fiction into its own promotion. A piece on narrative-native marketing.

Justin Tinto — bio and interview pack

For profiles, podcast bookers and broadcast producers.

Justin Tinto — Writer · Producer · Executive producer · Jason

Against the odds Justin Tinto wrote, financed, produced, and starred in Awakening, sacrificing time, money, and security to bring a story to life that asks a dangerous question: "What if the world we were taught to believe… was never the truth?" This trilogy was not born inside a studio system. It was forged through personal loss and relentless belief. Like Rocky, it's a climb where most turn back and only obsession reaches the summit. Justin made Awakening because the message changed his life and he believed it could change others. No safety net. No guarantees. Along the way, he built a trusted creative family of producers, technicians, and artists. The result is not a first-time experiment, but a proven foundation.

ANGLES
· Wrote, financed, produced and starred in Awakening — against the odds.
· "What if the world we were taught to believe… was never the truth?"
· Not born inside a studio system — forged through personal loss and relentless belief.

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8437680/

Approved boilerplate and contacts

The bottom of every release. Do not paraphrase it.

THE AWAKENING is the first of three films written by and starring Justin Tinto, produced independently in the United Kingdom and released direct-to-audience in November 2026. Conspiracy thriller, action and cultural curiosity · Feature film · Awakening 1 is a complete standalone feature with clear franchise potential. Anyone can join the free Awakening community at https://breakthesystem.world.

Press contact — Break The System PR desk
Press kit, stills and trailer: https://breakthesystem.world/epk
Interview and screener requests: https://breakthesystem.world/press
Social: #TheAwakening #BreakTheSystem #MyAwakening #TheAwakeningMovie

// MEDIA INQUIRIES

Every inbound ask has an answer already written.

Six things press ask for. Copy the reply, fill the brackets, send it inside the response time — a fast answer is the single biggest reason a desk runs the story.

Interview request

A desk or show wants Justin, or Justin plus a cast member.

Answer within 4 hours with two concrete slots.

Hi [FIRST NAME],

Yes — happy to make that work. Two slots that are free: [SLOT ONE] and [SLOT TWO], remote or in-studio in London.

Justin is the writer, producer and lead. He can speak to ten years of self-financing this, the cast he assembled without a studio, the Italian festival screening on 2 October and the London premiere on Friday 13 November.

Bio, stills and the full kit: https://breakthesystem.world/epk

Tell me which slot suits and I'll confirm it today.

[YOUR NAME] — Break The System PR desk
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Screener / review copy

A critic or programmer wants to watch the film.

Same day. Watermarked link, named to the recipient.

Hi [FIRST NAME],

Screener attached below — watermarked and named to you, please don't forward it.

Link: [SCREENER LINK]
Password: [PASSWORD]
Review embargo: [EMBARGO DATE]

Press notes and stills: https://breakthesystem.world/epk. If you want Justin for a short interview alongside the review, I can hold a slot.

[YOUR NAME] — Break The System PR desk
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Stills, clips or poster

An outlet needs images or footage to run a piece.

Within the hour — everything approved is already live.

Hi [FIRST NAME],

Everything approved is here, no login needed: https://breakthesystem.world/epk

That includes the poster, sixteen cleared stills, the trailer in full/50s/18s and the cast billing block. Credit line: "Courtesy of Awakening Movies Ltd."

If you need a specific frame or a cut at a different length, tell me the spec and I'll turn it around today.

[YOUR NAME] — Break The System PR desk
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Premiere accreditation

Press or a crew wants access on 13 November in London.

Confirm the name and outlet, then send the run-of-show.

Hi [FIRST NAME],

Noted for Friday 13 November in London. Send me the names and roles attending (reporter, photographer, camera op) and I'll put you on the list.

You'll get the run-of-show, carpet camera positions and the cast interview rota 72 hours before. A finished media package goes out within thirty minutes of the credits.

[YOUR NAME] — Break The System PR desk
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Exclusive / first-look ask

An outlet wants something nobody else has.

Answer personally. One exclusive per territory, dated.

Hi [FIRST NAME],

I can do that, exclusively for you, in your territory, with a dated embargo.

What's available: the first-look still set, unseen behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot, or the numbers on how the film was financed without a studio — whichever fits your readers best.

Tell me which one and your publish date, and it's yours.

[YOUR NAME] — Break The System PR desk
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Community / movement question

Someone asks what the Awakening Movement actually is.

Always answer — it converts readers into members.

Hi [FIRST NAME],

The film comes with a free community — no cost, no tier, no catch. Members get the trailer and drops first, the three Awakening questions, behind-the-scenes material and a say in what happens across the trilogy.

Join here: https://breakthesystem.world

If you're writing about it, the interesting part is the order: the audience came before the distribution deal, not after it.

[YOUR NAME] — Break The System PR desk
Open in mail