On July 5, 2016, Ellison announced the start of Brainfeeder film division. Shortly after, at the Sundance NEXT festival, he premiered a short film titled Royal. It was later revealed to be part of his feature film directorial debut, Kuso. Kuso would star Hannibal Buress, Tim Heidecker and David Firth among others. Kuso featured new music from Ellison himself under both the Flying Lotus and Captain Murphy names, Aphex Twin, Busdriver, and Thundercat, among others. Kuso premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017. On June 6, 2017, Ellison announced that Kuso would be released via the horror video streaming Service Shudder, on July 21, 2017. Kuso was also confirmed a theatrical release in New York City and Los Angeles. Addressing the responsibility of the wide release of Kuso, on Twitter, Ellison praised Shudder, explaining he found it to be a suitable home for the film's release.