Anthony “Tony” Cianciotta, a Canadian film industry figure with a career spanning five decades, died peacefully on June 26. He was 85.
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Cianciotta began his journey in the film industry in 1965 in Toronto as a film buyer for the J. Arthur Rank Organization, which later became Cineplex Odeon. He went on to hold executive positions at 20th Century Fox Canada and Cineplex Odeon. His tenure as senior VP and general manager of theatrical distribution at Alliance Releasing from 1992 to 1997 was particularly notable.
Cianciotta was known for his strategic approach to theatrical releases in Canada, consistently achieving box office returns that exceeded 10% of the North American total. Cianciotta’s portfolio included both arthouse films like “Cinema Paradiso” and “The English Patient,” as well as mainstream hits such as the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise and “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.”
Ellis Jacob, president and CEO of Cineplex, described Cianciotta as “one of the most passionate and dedicated to our business.”
Cianciotta championed Canadian productions, collaborating with filmmakers like Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg. Egoyan said: “Tony was a passionate cinephile and I loved working with him. We had so many beautiful conversations about the films we loved and this is a huge loss.”
“Such a Long Journey” filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson added: “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.”
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A regular on the international film festival circuit, Cianciotta had a long-standing partnership with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Piers Handling, former CEO of TIFF, called him “a true gentleman” and “a man of his word.”
Tonya Williams, “The Young and the Restless” actor, and executive director of Reelworld Film Festival and Reelworld Screen Institute, said: “Tony’s deep love for film was contagious. He was a member of Reelwold’s Board of Directors from 2017 – 2019 and played a significant role in helping to shape its programming.”
In recent years, Cianciotta worked on producing long-form content for the international market. He served as an executive producer on the Netflix-City TV series “Bad Blood.” His accolades included the 2014 Silver Spotlight Award from the Canadian Picture Pioneers and an appointment to a government panel on public broadcasting services.
Cianciotta was also an educator, lecturing at the Canadian Film Centre and Queen’s University. He received the CESAR Award for Excellence in Teaching from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University). He is survived by his wife, Anna Maria, his son, Anthony Jr., daughter-in-law Arlene, and two granddaughters.
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