Gabriella Martinelli's CapriFilms has appointed exhibition and distribution veteran Tony Cianciotta aspresident of its new distribution division, Capri Releasing.

The Toronto-based shingleannounced its first release: Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster, for which Cianciotta picked up Canadian rights atBerlin from Films Transit. The documentary, directed by Joe Berlinger and BruceSinofsky, chronicles the trials and tribulations of the aging members of theinfamous heavy metal band.

The new company will acquireand distribute upscale upscale films through third party acquisitions as wellas those pictures produced by Capri Pictures itself. Cianciotta will overseeacquisitions, marketing and distribution in theatrical, television andancillaries.

Cianciotta, who has heldsenior positions throughout the Canadian industry from exhibitor CineplexOdeon to pre-merger Alliance Releasing as well as start-up Red SkyEntertainment told ScreenDaily.com that there will always be room for a newdistribution company on the Canadian scene so long as the newcomer sticks tothe fundamentals. "You have to work hard to create awareness for your films,"he said. "If it's just a job, then there's enough of those already. If I'mgoing to release our own films then I'm going to be involved from the scriptstage. This is something they do very well in the US. If a film is going toopen at Christmas, the posters are in the lobby in the spring."

Describing Capri Releasingas a "boutique" operation, he said the company will ideally release betweeneight and ten films a year. The Metallica film will be released July 19 inmajor markets. Cianciotta said a 20-print release would not be unreasonable. Asfor the marketing of that film, he said, "I don't think we'll have to work toohard. The band sells a lot of CDs."

Capri Films currently hasseveral titles in development including Fall On Your Knees, based on the internationally acclaimed novel byCanadian writer Ann-Marie MacDonald; The Knight And The Loathly Lady, an Arthurian tale; and High Rise, a co-production with Jeremy Thomas' Recorded PictureCompany based on the novel by J.G. Ballard. Vincenzo Natali is attached todirect.