Ani Gasti

GASTI, ANI, of Orlando passed away unexpectedly Saturday July 9th from complications of bone cancer. He was 46 years old. Ani was universally admired, respected and loved by all. His presence brought comfort, energy and laughter on a daily basis to those around him. He was that rare individual who had no enemies and was a kind friend to everyone. Ani was a master at seeing the potential in people. With his casual grace he was a great teacher of life... inspiring, championing and mentoring on a personal level all those he met. His joy of knowledge for knowledge sake was legendary amongst his peers. Ani lived his personal and professional life with integrity, talent and humility. A good friend recently shared that Ani once "stumbled onto a very expensive two day, hands-on, skills assessment program. Once the results were published the founder of the program phoned Ani and said he had to meet with him personally. He had never seen anyone score off the charts in every category!" An extraordinary and consummate leader, Ani most recently held the title of Director of Faculty Development at Full Sail University located in Central Florida. Having joined Full Sail in 2003, Ani taught a variety of courses, launched the English Department as Chair, held the position of Program Director of the Entertainment Business Bachelor of Science degree and helped to create the Internet Marketing Master of Science degree program. Prior to his work at Full Sail, Ani had been an international business consultant for the University of Shanghai in China and worked in broadcast production at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, a global advertising agency in New York City. He preceded this position at BBH with five years in the original television movie division of HBO Films where he held the position of Director of Development. During earlier years in Los Angeles, Ani worked as a freelance story analyst for Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios and Universal Pictures. Ani held a Master of Business Administration in Management degree from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, a Master of Fine Arts in Motion Picture Producing degree from the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts in Drama degree from the University of Virginia. In recent months, he was pursuing his PhD. A true renaissance man, Ani had a passion for the arts, literature, sports, world travel and conversation. He participated at numerous film festivals as judge, scout and educator, including those in Los Angeles, New York City, Sundance and Toronto. Most recently, he shared his many talents with the Florida and Orlando Film Festivals. Ani was dedicated to the humane treatment of animals and this was no more apparent than in his adoration for his own small terrier, Chico. In all of his roles, Ani was responsible for inspiring and amazing everyone around him with exceptional professionalism and - most of all - he is, was, and will always be, a great friend with a wonderful heart. His presence and influence will be dearly missed. Ani, born Aniceto Alberto Sagastizabal, was greatly loved by his parents, Aniceto and Pat, his sisters Eileen and Maureen, his brothers Christopher, Rafael and Daniel as well as many other family members in the United States and the Basque region of Spain. A stranger to no one, Ani will be dearly missed by the countless number of good friends and colleagues he met throughout his life. In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations to The Humane Society or the Florida Little Dog Rescue.