Atom Egoyan
{{short description|Canadian filmmaker (born 1960)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Atom Egoyan
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|size=100%|CC}}
| image = Atom Egoyan in Stepanakert (cropped).jpg
| caption = Egoyan in 2016
| birth_name = Atom Yeghoyan
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|7|19}}
| birth_place = Cairo, United Arab Republic
| citizenship = {{ubl|Canada|Armenia (from 2018){{cite news |title=PM Pashinyan hands Armenian passports to Arsinée Khanjian and Atom Egoyan |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/946345.html |agency=Armenpress |date=7 September 2018}}}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Film director|screenwriter|producer}}
| years_active = 1984–present
| spouse = Arsinée Khanjian
| children = 1
| website = {{URL|http://www.egofilmarts.com/}}
| alma mater = Trinity College, Toronto
}}
Atom Egoyan {{post-nominals|country=CAN|CC}} ({{IPAc-en|ɛ|ˈ|ɡ|ɔɪ|ə|n}};{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/standards-guidelines/efgh/#e|title=Say How: E|publisher=National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped|access-date=October 17, 2018}} {{langx|hy|Ատոմ Եղոյեան}}; born July 19, 1960) is an Egyptian-Armenian filmmaker, typically working in Canada.{{cite web|url=http://www.egs.edu/faculty/atom-egoyan/biography/|title=Atom Egoyan Faculty Page at European Graduate School (Biography, bibliography and video lectures)|publisher=European Graduate School|access-date=2010-11-06|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101023102656/http://www.egs.edu/faculty/atom-egoyan/biography/|archive-date= 23 October 2010|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/canstage-lures-atom-egoyan-back-to-the-stage/article567690/|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|first=J. Kelly|last=Nestruck|title=Canstage lures Atom Egoyan back to the stage|date=February 23, 2011}} Emerging in the 1980s as part of the Toronto New Wave, he made his career breakthrough with Exotica (1994), a film set in a strip club.{{cite web|url=http://www.northernstars.ca/directorsal/egoyan_atom_interview_page05.html |title=Atom Egoyan - The Interview |publisher=Northernstars.ca |access-date=2015-09-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017211015/http://www.northernstars.ca/directorsal/egoyan_atom_interview_page05.html |archive-date=2013-10-17 }} Egoyan's most critically acclaimed film is the drama The Sweet Hereafter (1997), for which he received two Academy Award nominations. His biggest commercial success is the erotic thriller Chloe (2009).
Egoyan's works often explore themes of alienation and isolation, featuring characters whose interactions are mediated through technology, bureaucracy, or other power structures. His films often follow non-linear plot structures, in which events are placed out of sequence in order to elicit specific emotional reactions from the audience by withholding key information.
He received the 2008 Dan David Prize for "Creative Rendering of the Past"[http://www.dandavidprize.org/index.php/laureates/laureates-2008/56-2008-past-creative-rendering-of-the-past-literature-theater-film/72-past-2008-creative-rendering-of-the-past-literature-theater-film.html Dan David Prize Official site, Atom Egoyan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721105038/http://www.dandavidprize.org/index.php/laureates/laureates-2008/56-2008-past-creative-rendering-of-the-past-literature-theater-film/72-past-2008-creative-rendering-of-the-past-literature-theater-film.html |date=July 21, 2011 }} and the 2015 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.{{cite web|title=Atom Egoyan - biography|url=http://ggpaa.ca/award-recipients/2015/egoyan,-atom.aspx|website=Governor General's Performing Arts Awards|publisher=Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation|access-date=4 August 2015}} Egoyan is married to actress Arsinée Khanjian, whom he has often cast in his films.
Early life and education
Egoyan was born Atom Yeghoyan on July 19, 1960,{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/07/19/Famous-birthdays-for-July-19-Brian-May-Anthony-Edwards/2631563201127/|title=Famous birthdays for July 19|work=United Press International|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=August 7, 2019|archive-date=July 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719123258/https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/07/19/Famous-birthdays-for-July-19-Brian-May-Anthony-Edwards/2631563201127/|url-status=live|quote=Filmmaker Atom Egoyan in 1960 (age 59)}}{{cite news |title=Today in History: July 19 |url=https://apnews.com/article/today-in-history-gay-rights-george-w-bush-samuel-alito-e8cc51ab72aaedcf69879722a1bef590 |access-date=November 24, 2022 |work=Associated Press |date=July 19, 2022}} in Cairo, in what was then the United Arab Republic, to Armenian-Egyptian{{cite news |last=Waxman |first=Sharon |title=ATOM EGOYAN'S PARTICLES OF FAITH |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1997/12/14/atom-egoyans-particles-of-faith/c799322e-da25-45db-a85d-89cbbba1454f/ |access-date=November 24, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 14, 1997}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/21/atom-egoyan-adoration-chloe|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Cath|last=Clarke|title=The double life of Atom Egoyan|date=January 21, 2010}} painters{{cite news |last=McKenna |first=Kristine |title=This Director's Got a Brand Noir Bag |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-12-ca-41940-story.html |access-date=November 24, 2022 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 12, 1995}}{{cite news |last=Onstad |first=Katrina |title=Adapting to Life's Change, on Screen and Off |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/movies/30onst.html |access-date=November 24, 2022 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 27, 2009 |location=Toronto}} Shushan ({{nee|Devletian}}) and Joseph Yeghoyan.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/5/Atom-Egoyan.html |title=Atom Egoyan Biography (1960-) |website=Filmreference.com |access-date=2015-09-10}} He was named Atom to mark the completion of Egypt's first nuclear reactor.{{cite book|title=Toronto|year=2007|publisher=Lonely Planet|location=Footscray, Victoria, Australia|isbn=9781740598354|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0twBxkXe5DsC|page=28|author=Charles Rawlings-Way, Natalie Karneef|edition=3rd}}{{cite web|title=ATOM EGOYAN - BIOGRAPHY|url=http://www.egs.edu/faculty/atom-egoyan/biography/|publisher=European Graduate School|access-date=25 August 2013|quote=Atom Egoyan's name was a symbolic choice by his parents, named after the new nuclear reactor in Egypt.}} Egoyan has a younger sister, Eve.Interview with Eleanor Wachtel on CBC Radio One's programme Ideas on February 9, 2010. cf. http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
In 1963, because of a rise in Arab nationalism, the family left Cairo and moved to Victoria, British Columbia, in Canada.{{cite web |title=Atom Egoyan Archive |url=http://collection.tiff.net/mwebcgi/mweb/mweb/mweb?request=record;id=403348;type=902 |website=Toronto International Film Festival |access-date=24 November 2022}}{{cite web |title=Atom Egoyan Fonds |url=https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/atom-egoyan-fonds |website=University of Toronto |access-date=24 November 2022 |date=2014}} They changed their last name to Egoyan.
As a teenager, Egoyan became interested in reading and writing plays. Influences included Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. He also attributes his future in the film industry to Ingmar Bergman's Persona (1966), which he viewed at age 14, according to an interview he had with journalist Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life:
{{blockquote|It gave me an incredible respect for the medium and its possibilities. To me, Persona marries a pure form and a very profound vision with absolute conviction. It's very inspiring. I felt that it was able to open a door that wasn't there before.{{cite book |last=Elder |first=Robert K. |author-link=Robert K. Elder |title=The Film That Changed My Life |date=2011 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |page=179}}}}
Egoyan graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto. It was at Trinity College that he came into contact with Harold Nahabedian, the Armenian-Canadian Anglican Chaplain of Trinity College. In interviews, Egoyan credited Nahabedian for introducing him to the language and history of his ethnic heritage. Egoyan wrote for the University of Toronto's independent weekly, The Newspaper, during his time at the school.{{Cite web |title=Atom Egoyan |url=https://alumni.utoronto.ca/news-and-stories/featured-alumni/atom-egoyan |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=University of Toronto Alumni |language=en}}
Career
Egoyan began making films in the early 1980s; his debut film Next of Kin (1984) had a world premier at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg and won a major prize. The next year he directed the 1985 Twilight Zone episode "The Wall".
His commercial breakthrough came with his film Exotica (1994). He received the Grand Prix (Belgian Film Critics Association) in Brussels, the FIPRESCI Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and Best Motion Picture at the Canadian Screen Awards (then called the Genie Awards).
Egoyan's first attempt at adapted material resulted in his best-known work, the highly praised The Sweet Hereafter (1997). It earned him three prizes at the 50th Cannes Film Festival: the Grand Prix, the FIPRESCI Jury Prize, and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. The film also earned Egoyan Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Beginning in 1996, Egoyan has directed several operas, including Salome, Così fan tutte, Jenůfa, and The Ring Cycle, at the Canadian Opera, Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, and elsewhere.{{Cite web|url=https://www.schmopera.com/scene/people/atom-egoyan/|title=Atom Egoyan}}
The film Ararat (2002) generated much publicity for Egoyan. After Henri Verneuil's French-language film Mayrig (1991), it was the first major motion picture to deal directly with the Armenian genocide. Ararat later won the award for Best Motion Picture at the Canadian Screen Awards, marking Egoyan's third win. {{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/atom-egoyan |title=Atom Egoyan }} The film was released in over 30 countries around the world.
In 2004, Egoyan opened Camera Bar, a 50-seat cinema-lounge on Queen Street West in Toronto.{{Cite news|url=https://nowtoronto.com/news/city-in-brief-2006-04-06/|title=Egoyan's Camera fades to black|date=2006-04-06|newspaper=Now|access-date=2017-05-11|archive-date=2018-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105070357/https://nowtoronto.com/news/city-in-brief-2006-04-06/|url-status=dead}} The bar closed in 2006.{{cite web | url=https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/camera-bar-shuts-down.2430/ | title=Camera Bar shuts down | date=21 March 2006 }}
Beginning in September 2006, Egoyan taught at the University of Toronto for three years.{{cite news |title=Teaching gig just another way to be creative, Egoyan says |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/teaching-gig-just-another-way-to-be-creative-egoyan-says-1.622105 |access-date=7 May 2022 |website=CBC.ca |date=17 August 2006}} He joined the Faculty of Arts and Science as the Dean's Distinguished Visitor in theatre, film, music, and visual studies. He subsequently taught at Ryerson University.{{cite web |title=Bio |url=http://www.egofilmarts.com/bio.html |website=Ego Film Arts |access-date=November 24, 2022}} In 2006, he received the Master of Cinema Award of the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg.
His film Adoration (2008) has been adapted into an opera by Mary Kouyoumdjian and librettist Royce Vavrek. It premiered in New York in 2024 and is set to be presented again by LA Opera in 2025. {{cite web| url=https://laopera.org/performances/2025/adoration| title=LA Opera Adoration}}
In 2009, he directed the erotic thriller Chloe, which was theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010. This film grossed $3 million in limited theatrical release in the United States,{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=chloe.htm |title=Chloe (2010) |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=February 3, 2012}} which was generally considered respectable for an arthouse film release in the early 2010's.{{cite news| work=Filmmaker | title=Crash (or Requiem for a Dream) | first=Mary | last=Glucksman | date=Winter 2009}}{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2010/film/features/specialty-pics-face-reduced-expectations-1118018219/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430060632/http://variety.com/article/VR1118018219.html?categoryid=3768&cs=1 | url-status=live | archive-date=April 30, 2010 | work=Variety | title=Specialty pics face reduced expectations | first=Andrew | last=Stewart | date=April 24, 2010}}{{cite news| url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-2813572781/hits-misses | work=Filmmaker | title=Hits & Misses | first=Anthony | last=Kaufman | date=Winter 2012}} Several months after the DVD/Blu-ray release of Chloe, Egoyan said that Chloe had made more money than any of his previous films.{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2010/12/07/the_digital_revolution_part_1.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220201932/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2010/12/07/the_digital_revolution_part_1.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 20, 2013 | newspaper=Toronto Star | first=Geoff | last=Pevere | title=The Digital Revolution: Part 1 | date=December 7, 2010}}{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509170527/http://lci.tf1.fr/cinema/news/atom-egoyan-ryan-reynolds-m-a-semble-une-evidence-8542522.html |archive-date=May 9, 2015 |url=http://lci.tf1.fr/cinema/news/atom-egoyan-ryan-reynolds-m-a-semble-une-evidence-8542522.html |title=Atom Egoyan : "Ryan Reynolds m'a semblé une évidence" |publisher=MYTF1News |access-date=September 10, 2015}} The success of Chloe led Egoyan to receive many scripts of erotic thrillers.{{cite news|url=http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100713/100713_chloe_DVD/20100713/ |title=Atom Egoyan sifts through sex thriller scripts in wake of 'Chloe' |work=CP24 |date=2010-07-13 |access-date=2015-09-10}}
In 2012, he directed a production of Martin Crimp's Cruel and Tender. {{cite news |last=DeMara |first=Bruce |title=Filmmaker Atom Egoyan loving his return to directing live theatre |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2012/01/25/filmmaker_atom_egoyan_loving_his_return_to_directing_live_theatre.html |access-date=7 May 2022 |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=25 January 2012}}
After the release of the West Memphis Three from 18 years in prison, Egoyan directed a movie about the case called Devil's Knot (2013) starring Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, based on a book, Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three by Mara Leveritt. His next feature, The Captive (2014), starred Ryan Reynolds and screened in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival,{{cite web|last1=Vlessing|first1=Etan|title=Cannes: Atom Egoyan on Why 'The Captive' Will 'Redefine' Ryan Reynolds|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-atom-egoyan-why-captive-704816|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=16 May 2014|access-date=4 August 2015}} where it received largely negative reviews from critics.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_captive_2014/|title=The Captive (2014)|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 14, 2016}} Justin Chang from Variety described the film as "a ludicrous abduction thriller that finds a once-great filmmaker slipping into previously un-entered realms of self-parody."{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/cannes-film-review-atom-egoyans-the-captive-1201183274/|title=Cannes Film Review: 'The Captive'|last=Chang|first=Justin|date=May 16, 2014|magazine=Variety}}
In 2015, Egoyan directed the thriller Remember, which starred Christopher Plummer and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, before being given a limited release in theatres.{{cite web|title=Remember - Gala Presentations|url=http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/galapresentations/remember|website=Toronto International Film Festival|access-date=4 August 2015|archive-date=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610173706/http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/galapresentations/remember|url-status=dead}} His 2019 drama Guest of Honour, was nominated for a Golden Lion in competition in Venice in 2019, had a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival, and opening night galas in Vancouver and Montreal.
His latest film is Seven Veils (2023); the film was a Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Official Selection with a special advance premiere at the Canadian Opera Company’s theatre, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. {{cite web | url=https://www.tiff.net/events/seven-veils-with-atom-egoyan | title=Seven Veils with Atom Egoyan }}
He has also occasionally appeared in films as an actor, most notably in his own film Calendar and Jean Pierre Lefebvre's The Box of Sun (La boîte à soleil).
Personal life
File:Atom Egoyan and Arsinee Khanjian in 2013.jpg in 2013]]
Egoyan is based in Toronto, where he lives with his wife, actress Arsinée Khanjian, who appears in many of his films, and their son, Arshile (named after the Armenian-American painter Arshile Gorky).
In 1999, Egoyan was made an Officer of the Order of Canada; he was promoted in 2015 to Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest grade of the honour.{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-7121|title=Order of Canada Appointment|website=The Governor General of Canada|access-date=31 December 2022}} In 2009, he won the 'Master of Cinema' award from the Mannheim Film Festival, 25 years after receiving his international festival premiere at the same event. In 2017, Egoyan was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Film Festival of India.
Filmography
=Feature Films=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer |
|---|
| 1984
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 1987
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes|Uncredited}} |
| 1989
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 1991
| data-sort-value="Adjuster, The" | The Adjuster | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 1993
| Calendar | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 1994
| Exotica | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 1997
| data-sort-value="Sweet Hereafter, The" | The Sweet Hereafter | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 1999
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2002
| Ararat | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 2005
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes|Executive}} |
| 2006
| Citadel | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 2008
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 2009
| Chloe | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |
| 2013
| {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |
| 2014
| data-sort-value="Captive, The" | The Captive | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 2015
| Remember | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |
| 2019
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 2023
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
=Short Films=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director ! Writer ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1979
| Howard in Particular | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |
| 1980
| After Grad with Dad | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |
| 1981
| Peep Show | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |
| 1982
| Open House | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |
| 1985
| Men: A Passion Playground | {{yes}} | {{no}} | |
| 1991
| En passant (In Passing) | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Segment of Montreal Stories |
| 1995
| data-sort-value="Portrait of Arshile, A" | A Portrait of Arshile | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |
| 2000
| data-sort-value="Line, The" | The Line | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Segment of Preludes |
| 2001
| Diaspora | {{yes}} | {{no}} | |
| 2007
| Artaud Double Bill | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Segment To Each His Own Cinema |
| 2013
| Butterfly | {{yes}} | {{no}} | Segment of Venezia 70 Future Reload |
=TV Films=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer |
|---|
| 1986
| {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |
| 1993
| {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |
| 1997
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 1988
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2000
| {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |
Awards
Bibliography
- Dear Sandra, Volumina (2007)
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Atom Egoyan}}{{Archival records|title=Atom Egoyan fonds}}
- [http://www.egofilmarts.com/ Ego Film Arts] – official website
- [https://egs.edu/biography/atom-egoyan/ Atom Egoyan] – faculty page at European Graduate School (includes biography and video lectures)
- {{IMDb name|382}}
- [https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-7121 Order of Canada citation]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060815220008/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060810/egoyan_teaching_060810/20060810?hub=Entertainment CTV.ca Filmmaker Egoyan set to teach at U. of Toronto]
- [http://rburnett.ecuad.ca/atom-egoyans-film-calendar/ Discussion of Egoyan's film, Calendar by Ron Burnett] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707215935/http://rburnett.ecuad.ca/atom-egoyans-film-calendar/ |date=2015-07-07 }}
- [http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/4492/atom-egoyan Literature on Atom Egoyan]
{{Atom Egoyan|state=autocollapse}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Atom Egoyan
|list =
{{ACCT Best Director}}
{{Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival |state=autocollapse}}
{{TFCA Award for Best Director}}
{{IFFI - Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award}}
}}
{{Berlin International Film Festival jury presidents}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Egoyan, Atom}}
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