Atom Egoyan

Biography

Born in Egypt to Armenian parents, he was raised in Western Canada. Both his parents were painters, and he planned to be a playwright, but after making a short film, he became hooked on telling stories visually. Returned to ethnic "homeland" when he filmed _Calendar (1993)_ (qv) in Armenia. Won attention at the Sundance Film Festival for earlier work, then broke through critically and commercially with _Exotica (1994)_ (qv). Afterwards, _The Sweet Hereafter (1997)_ (qv) led him to receive two Academy Award nominations, and then _Chloe (2009)_ (qv) became his biggest moneymaker ever (after the film's DVD/Blu-ray release). Atom Egoyan's parents were painters and he studied International Relations and music at the University of Toronto where he began making short films: _Howard in Particular (1979)_ (qv), _After Grad with Dad (1980)_ (qv), _Peep Show (1981)_ (qv) and _Open House (1982)_ (qv). While he has several distinguished Television and Opera works on his resume and such pictures as his debut _Next of Kin (1984)_ (qv) , Berlin and Moscow International Film Festival-winning _Family Viewing (1987)_ (qv) and _Exotica (1994)_ (qv) -- his most critically acclaimed picture is _The Sweet Hereafter (1997)_ (qv) and his biggest commercial success is the erotic thriller _Chloe (2009)_ (qv). Egoyan's _Ararat (2002)_ (qv) -- about the 1915 Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Turks in the Turkish Ottoman Empire -- depicted the consequences and suffering of a child survivor 'Arshile Gorky' (qv), who became the pioneer of the American Abstract Expressionism. _Ararat (2002)_ (qv) won five honors at Canada's top Genie Awards. Egoyan has also collected numerous awards at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.