Distribution : Indy Film saved by Blu-Ray by Doug Dilg

Forty years ago, I produced the film STRANGERS KISS. Thanks to an innovative deferment formula, we managed to make a film for only $150,000 in cash and over $2,000,000 in deferments, while attracting top acting talent: Peter Coyote (ET), Victoria Tennant (Two of Us), Blaine Novak (They All Laughed), Richard Romanus (Mean Streets), and Dan Shor (Wise Blood), and enormously professional crew: director Matthew Chapman, future Academy Award Winner Production Designer Michael Riva, cinematographer Misha Suslov and an original score by Gato Barbieri. After playing at the Toronto Film Festival, the film was acquired by Orion Classics domestically and by JM Film Sales which handled foreign sales throughout the world (including playing in Zimbabwe!).

What we never contemplated during those heady days was what would happen 30 years down the road, when our contracts expired, our film partners went out of business, and the film gradually disappeared into oblivion. Unlike a studio film where there is an existing infrastructure to store and preserve films, Independent Films have no such infrastructure and it is so easy, and common, for the films to just disappear. Such was the fate STRANGERS KISS.

Fortunately, just about a year ago, an angel appeared. Fun City Editions, an Independent Blu-Ray distributor that has been specializing in re-releasing films from 80’s, got in touch with us. Through their work and a bit of luck, we were able to track down an internegative still in storage at MGM thanks to Orion, and they have restored and created a digital 4K master, and I’m very happy to be able to announce that as of today the Blu-Ray disc is available. And through this revival, the film will be playing on the Criterion Channel later this year and has been accepted to be part of the Academy Museum Archive as a film that made a “significant contribution to the history of cinema.”

I know many people here question how you can go from an idea to getting your film made and out to audiences. This film is proof that with persistence and innovation it can be done. Having our film once again see the light of day makes today one of the happiest moments in the whole journey, and all of us who made it are extremely grateful to Fun City Editions.

https://www.funcityeditions.com/films/strangerskiss