Anthony (Tony) Cianciotta, a Canadian movie trade veteran of fifty years, has died. The well-regarded distribution and exhibition govt handed away peacefully on June 26. He was 85.
Cianciotta began his profession within the movie trade in 1965, in Toronto, as a key movie purchaser for the J. Arthur Rank Group, which finally turned Cineplex Odeon in 1980.
Following that, Cianciotta held quite a lot of outstanding govt positions, together with Vice President and Common Supervisor at twentieth Century Fox, Canada and Senior Vice President, Movie at Cineplex Odeon, amongst others. He’s maybe most acknowledged for his tenure as Senior Vice President and Common Supervisor of theatrical distribution at Alliance Releasing from 1992 to 1997.
Cianciotta is remembered for his capacity to ascertain theatrical launch methods in Canada with nice precision. From platforming groundbreaking movies like Cinema Paradiso, Mediterraneo, The English Affected person, Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting, to engaged on blockbuster akin to the unique Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Jim Carrey breakout The Masks and Austin Powers: Worldwide Man of Thriller. Underneath his path, movies constantly grossed nicely over the ten% benchmark of the North American field workplace.
Ellis Jacob, President and CEO of Cineplex, commented,“It’s a unhappy time for our trade with the lack of a really particular one that was some of the passionate and devoted to our enterprise. Tony knew his motion pictures and did an excellent job in creating worth. He by no means left a stone unturned whether or not it was work, relationships or charitable occasions. He shall be missed however not forgotten. Our ideas and prayers are together with his spouse, Anna Maria Muccilli, and his household.”
Cianciotta was additionally a champion of Canadian productions, working carefully with filmmakers that included Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg, Jerry Ciccoritti and Sturla Gunnarsson in addition to forging worldwide relationships with the likes of Anthony Minghella, Giuseppe Tornatore, Gabriele Salvatores and Nanni Moretti.
Egoyan mentioned,“Tony was a passionate cinephile and I liked working with him. We had so many lovely conversations concerning the movies we liked and it is a large loss.”
Ciccoritti added, “I knew Tony for over 25 years. My profession is inextricably wound up together with his presence, his recommendation, his humor and his ardour for cinema and for all times – and the higher for him. I liked him and I miss him and I’m in his debt.”
Canadian filmmaker, Sturla Gunnarsson additionally famous, “After I first met Tony Cianciotta, my movie Such A Lengthy Journey was languishing within the fingers of an detached distributor, destined for the oblivion that awaits most Canadian movies. Tony screened and fell in love with the movie, helped us recuperate the distribution rights and turned it into successful. He introduced the identical ardour and dedication to releasing the movie as we needed to making it – he was the distributor that each filmmaker desires of working with. The movie world is a smaller place with out Tony and I’ll miss him.”
Cianciotta additionally had a protracted relationship with the Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition. Stated Piers Dealing with, former CEO and Government Director of TIFF, “Tony was not solely an astute and sensible movie distributor who was liable for the success of many artwork home and overseas movies in Canada over the a long time, however he was a real lover of cinema who established deep and significant relations with filmmakers and the movie trade. He was additionally a real gentleman, a person of his phrase who might at all times be trusted. His contribution shall be missed by all who knew him.”
Tonya Williams, award-winning actress and Government Director of Reelworld Movie Competition and Reelworld Display screen Institute, remarked, “Tony’s deep love for movie was contagious. He was a member of Reelwold’s Board of Administrators from 2017-2019 and performed a major function in serving to to form its programming. He additionally incessantly shared his data and expertise within the Canadian trade with teams of our program individuals. A tremendous human being, he was an icon in our sector and enthusiastic about all points of the movie enterprise. He shall be missed, however his lasting affect on our trade will endure.”
Most just lately, Cianciotta labored carefully with content material suppliers to supply long-form movie and TV sequence for the worldwide market, serving as an govt producer on the six-part, award-winning Netflix/Metropolis TV sequence, Unhealthy Blood.
Different distinguished achievements included the 2014 Silver Highlight Award from the Canadian Image Pioneers; and an appointment by the Canadian Heritage Minister in 2004 to a three-member panel of consultants learning the difficulty of Canadians’ entry to public broadcasting companies in languages apart from English and French.
Cianciotta was additionally a mentor to aspiring filmmakers and was honored with the CESAR Award for Excellence in Instructing from Ryerson College (now Toronto Metropolitan College), and was a visitor lecturer at each Norman Jewison’s Canadian Movie Centre and Queen’s College, Ontario.
A Celebration of Life shall be held at a later date.
