New York: Icarus Films today announced its acquisition of all North American distribution rights, including theatrical, non-theatrical, home entertainment, and television rights to the beloved 1984 documentary TOSCA’S KISS (87 minutes), directed by Daniel Schmid (1941–2006).
Giuseppe Verdi’s “finest work,” as he himself described it, still stands today on the Piazza Buonarotti in Milan. It is the “Casa di riposa” founded by Verdi in 1896–the world’s first rest home for retired opera singers. In TOSCA’S KISS, Schmid captured a world in which these wonderful singers (many of whom had significant careers on the opera stage) re-live and re-enact their triumphant roles of the glorious past. TOSCA’S KISS is a touching and often hilarious film on the subject of aging and the power and timeless capacity of music to inspire.
A favorite among opera and music lovers worldwide, TOSCA’S KISS inspired Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut QUARTET. Now completely restored by the Cinémathèque Suisse, with supervision by the film’s noted cinematographer Renato Berta, TOSCA’S KISS was selected and premiered at the 2013 Venice Film Festival.
The deal for North American distribution was negotiated by Jonathan Miller for Icarus Films and Marcel Hoehn, producer of the film, for T & C Films of Zurich, Switzerland. Icarus Films plans a summer theatrical release followed by DVD and digital distribution for home entertainment audiences in the fall.