Obscured Releasing has acquired North American distribution rights to The Drug in Our Pocket, a documentary about how smartphones have reshaped childhood and mental health, Deadline reported. The film from director Anne Sundberg holds its world premiere Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Hamptons International Film Festival in New York.
What The Drug in Our Pocket explores
The film follows young people, parents and experts as they look at how digital environments affect attention, emotions and identity. The Purist, which interviewed Sundberg, reported that the film also draws on unsealed internal Meta communications.
The title comes from one of the film’s subjects, Larissa May, whose doctors asked about sex, drugs, sleep and alcohol but never about “the drug in her pocket,” Sundberg told The Purist. Beth Kojima and Sundberg produced the film. The executive producers include Jenna Bush Hager and Ashley Graham.
Sundberg is known for her work with longtime partner Ricki Stern. Their documentaries include Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Reversing Roe and The Devil Came on Horseback.
Release plans for The Drug in Our Pocket
After the Hamptons debut, the documentary will screen at the Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis and the Newport Beach Film Festival in Southern California. Obscured Releasing plans an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run this fall, followed by a limited release in early 2027.
Two Hamptons screenings of The Drug in Our Pocket are sold out, Spark Hamptons reported. Obscured Releasing’s RJ Millard and Bill Guentzler called the film “a necessary call to action” that points viewers toward steps they can take to reclaim their attention.
Sundberg shares that goal. In a statement, she said The Drug in Our Pocket is about more than documenting how young people grow up online, and that she hopes it can start “a larger movement” asking people to “pay attention to our attention.”
The deal arrives as governments and schools weigh limits on phones. Deadline noted that numerous U.S. states restrict phones in classrooms and that countries including Australia and France have moved to limit teen social media access. For another look at how families are rethinking screen time, read our story on why parents want kids outside.
About Obscured Releasing
Obscured Releasing launched in 2025. Its founders, RJ Millard and Bill Guentzler, said they believe the film can start a larger movement asking people to pay attention to their attention. The distributor’s earlier releases include Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter and the comedy She’s the He.
Documentaries have been busy on the festival circuit this fall. Read about Pakistan’s Oscar documentary pick and our interview with the filmmaker behind Trade Secret.
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