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Born in Hungary in 1949, Robert (Janos) Lantos immigrated to Uruguay in 1958 and Canada in 1963. He studied film and literature at McGill University and formed a small company with his friend Victor Loewy, Vivafilm, in 1972. His first venture into the film business was to purchase the Canadian rights to a New York Erotic Film Festival compilation film and to distribute it on the university campus film circuit.
In 1975, Lantos and Loewy joined forces with entertainment lawyer Stephen Roth to form RSL Productions. They produced Gilles Carle’s L’Ange et la femme in 1977 and George Kaczender’s In Praise of Older Women. RSL produced over 15 films in 10 years, including Agency, Suzanne, Heavenly Bodies and Joshua Then and Now. In 1985, RSL merged with Denis Heroux and John Kemeny’s International Cinema Corporation to form Alliance Communications.
Lantos became the Chair and CEO Alliance Communications in 1987. Under his stewardship, the company became the foremost producer of English language feature films and the leading distributor of Canadian and foreign-made art cinema in this country. Lantos stepped down after overseeing a 1998 merger between Alliance and Atlantis Communications, although he continues to produce features with his new company, Serendipity Point Films. Recent works include Sunshine, Men with Brooms and Ararat.
Lantos has won numerous awards, including the Air Canada Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Business of Filmmaking in Canada’, a Toronto Arts Award, the CFTPA’s Chetwynd Award for ‘Entrepreneurial Excellence’, and, most importantly, an Order of Canada.
Lantos has two children with his ex-wife, actress Jennifer Dale. He lives in Toronto.
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Data copied from Drupal by Adam Cavanaugh 2022/05/02
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- English
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Sources
“Robert Lantos”, Film Reference Library https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/robert-lantos
“Robert Lantos.” Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television. Vol.55. Gale, 2004.
“Canada’s movie magician.” Toronto Star, August 14, 2006, E2.
Eckler, Rebecca. “Being Robert Lantos.” National Post, September 9, 2004, B3.