Roadside Attractions Acquires U.S. Rights to Paul Dalio’s TOUCHED WITH FIRE Starring Katie Holmes

Roadside Attractions has acquired U.S. rights to Paul Dalio’s debut feature TOUCHED WITH FIRE (formerly titled MANIA DAYS) starring Katie Holmes.

A critical and audience favorite at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, TOUCHED WITH FIRE “boasts Katie Holmes’ best performance in years,” according to the Huffington Post, and is the story of two bipolar poets whose art is fueled by their emotional extremes.

When they meet in a psychiatric hospital their romance brings out all the beauty and darkness of their condition until they have to choose between sanity and love.

Holmes and Luke Kirby (TAKE THIS WALTZ) star, and are joined by Griffin Dunne, Christine Lahti and Bruce Altman. The film is looking to be released in early 2016.

Drawing inspiration from his own life experience and journey with bipolar disorder, Paul Dalio wrote, directed, edited and scored TOUCHED WITH FIRE. The film is produced by Jeremy Alter and Kristina Nikolova Dalio, who also served as the film’s co-cinematographer.

Spike Lee joined the project as Executive Producer after serving as Dalio’s professor at NYU Film School.

“TOUCHED WITH FIRE is a striking debut with fantastic performances. Paul has clearly put his heart and soul into this project and audiences will connect with it. We’re thrilled to be releasing,” says Roadside Attractions co-president Howard Cohen.

“I’m grateful that Roadside has put their faith in my film. They are an extraordinary company and their passion for the film and strong vision for its release were immediately clear. I know they will give this film a chance to have its greatest possible impact,” says Paul Dalio.

“Roadside Attractions has an impeccable history as an innovative distributor and caretaker of both its films and filmmakers. We are very excited to be partnering with them in bringing Paul’s unique vision to the screen,” added Jeremy Alter on behalf of the producers.

The deal was negotiated by Laura Lewis and Nick Ogiony at CAA and Craig Emanuel at Loeb & Loeb on behalf of the filmmakers and Howard Cohen on behalf of Roadside Attractions. International rights are being shopped at Cannes.