Canada’s film industry is mourning the loss of veteran and mentor Anthony (Tony) Cianciotta, who died on June 26 at the age of 85.

“Tony’s deep love for film was contagious,” said Reelworld Screen Institute founder Tonya Williams in a statement, who worked with Cianciotta from 2017 to 2019 while he served on Reelworld’s board of directors. “An amazing human being, he was an icon in our sector and passionate about all aspects of the film business… his lasting impact on our industry will endure.”

Born in Italy on May 30, 1939, Cianciotta immigrated to Canada as a young man and began a career that spanned 50 years in theatrical distribution and exhibition.

He served as VP and general manager at 20th Century Fox, Canada; he was SVP and general manager of theatrical distribution at Alliance Releasing; and SVP, film at Cineplex Odeon Corporation, to highlight a few of his accomplishments.

It was in 1997 during his tenure at Alliance Releasing that he made a bold move to relocate to Vancouver to start Red Sky Entertainment, a distribution company that focused mainly on B.C. and Western Canadian projects. Three of his Alliance executive colleagues joined him, including Mary-Pat Gleason, Dave Forget and Anna Maria Muccilli (who would later become his wife).

“At some time, you realize that you want to take a bigger role in the industry,” Cianciotta told Playback in 1997 about his reasons for founding Red Sky. “We get to be a big fish in a small pond. There is no [feature] distribution company here. We have the opportunity to get involved with filmmakers in a more substantial way than we did before and we wanted the challenge of acquiring the films and gaining support from the various companies here.”

“When I first met Tony Cianciotta, my film, Such A Long Journey was languishing in the hands of an indifferent distributor, destined for the oblivion that awaits most Canadian films,” said Icelandic-Canadian filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson. “Tony screened and fell in love with the film, helped us recover the distribution rights and turned it into a hit. He brought the same passion and commitment to releasing the film as we had to making it – he was the distributor that every filmmaker dreams of working with. The film world is a smaller place without Tony and I’ll miss him.”

Only two years later Cianciotta departed after a rumoured conflict with the key investors, Working Opportunity Fund and Royal Bank Capital Corp. Muccilli left soon after and returned to Toronto, where she started a boutique PR firm, A.M.P.R.

International Keystone Entertainment bought Red Sky for an undisclosed amount in 2000.

In 2000 Cianciotta joined Cineplex as SVP, film but left the company in 2003 following a three-and-a-half-year tenure. “Tony knew his movies and did an outstanding job in creating value,” said Cineplex president and CEO Ellis Jacob on Cianciotta’s death. “He never left a stone unturned, whether it was work, relationships or charitable events. He will be missed, but not forgotten.”

In the fall of 2007 he joined forces with former Alliance Releasing colleague Charlotte Mickie, as managing directors of Maximum Film Distribution and Maximum Films International, respectively. Maxmium was founded by former Alliance titan Robert Lantos.

In 2009 Cianciotta had a brief stint as senior consultant for Maple Pictures before launching D Films, a boutique releasing company, with fellow industry vet Jim Sherry later that year. Cianciotta held the title of VP of acquisitions. “Here we go again,” Cianciotta told Playback at the time, referencing his long and peripatetic career.

Despite his career successes, his life was marred by the loss of his daughter, Grace Cianciotta, who died in 2008 at the age of 43 following a breast cancer diagnosis. A film marketing executive, she had been working for Maximum Films International and Maximum Film Distribution alongside him.

Cianciotta’s commitment to the Canadian film industry was recognized by the 2014 Silver Spotlight Award from the Canadian Picture Pioneers; an appointment by the Canadian Heritage Minister in 2004 to a three-member panel of experts studying the issue of Canadians’ access to public broadcasting services in languages other than English and French; and extensive participation on international film festival juries and boards.

Cianciotta also mentored aspiring filmmakers and taught at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), where he was awarded the CESAR Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was also a guest lecturer at the Canadian Film Centre and at Queen’s University.

“Tony was not only an astute and smart film distributor who was responsible for the success of many art house and foreign films in Canada over the decades, but he was a true lover of cinema who established deep and meaningful relations with filmmakers and the film industry,” said Piers Handling, former CEO and executive director of the Toronto International Film Festival. “He was also a true gentleman, a man of his word who could always be trusted. His contribution will be missed by all who knew him.”

Cianciotta is survived by his wife Anna Maria Muccilli and his son Anthony Jr., as well as his grandchildren and extended family.

Photo courtesy of Touchwood PR