Biography for
Atom Egoyan More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

19 July 1960, Cairo, Egypt

Birth Name

Atom Yeghoyan

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini 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) in Armenia. Won attention at the Sundance Film Festival for earlier work, then broke through critically and commercially with Exotica (1994). Afterwards, The Sweet Hereafter (1997) led him to receive two Academy Award nominations, and then Chloe (2009) became his biggest moneymaker ever (after the film's DVD/Blu-ray release).

IMDb Mini Biography By: mwprods@mindspring.com

Mini Biography

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), After Grad with Dad (1980), Peep Show (1981) and Open House (1982).

While he has several distinguished Television and Opera works on his resume and such pictures as his debut Next of Kin (1984/I) , Berlin and Moscow International Film Festival-winning Family Viewing (1988), Exotica (1994) - his most critically acclaimed creation is The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and his biggest commercial success is the erotic thriller Chloe (2009).

4 time Cannes Film Festival winner and the most famous Armenian filmmaker since Sergei Parajanov, the Egypt-born, Canada-bred, Oscar-nominated master of indie cinema, has collected an impressive 4 awards from the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival.

A 7 time recipient of Canada's top Genie Awards, he is one of the most remarkable figures of the contemporary independent filmmaking.

IMDb Mini Biography By: PARAJANOV.com

Spouse

Arsinée Khanjian

(19? - present) 1 child

Trade Mark

Frequently casts David Hemblen, Elias Koteas, and Gabrielle Rose

Frequently incorporates televisions and video monitors into his films

Frequently repeats voice-over sequences thoughout the course of a film

Many of his films deal with the complicated nature of human sexuality

Trivia

His wife Arsinée Khanjian appears in almost all his movies, except Chloe (2009).

Parents Joseph and Shushan(nee Devletian) painted, but also ran a furniture store.

Graduated University of Toronto, B.A. International Relations, 1982.

Plays classical guitar

He and his actress wife, Arsinée Khanjian, have a son, Arshile.

Created an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor-General Roméo Leblanc. [Ottawa, Sept. 23, 1999]

One of his favorite movies is Sergei Parajanov's The Color of Pomegranates (1968), his best friend Mikhail Vartanov's most favorite film.

Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996

Head of jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2003

Was member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995.

In December 2010, Atom Egoyan said to The Toronto Star (a newspaper in Canada) that Chloe (2009) had made more money than any of his previous films.

Personal Quotes

I think with all directors there are ideas that recur, at least for the ones that have creative control of their films.

This idea of clarity and that people should know at all times what's going on is obviously very attractive from a marketing perspective, but I think it would completely eviscerate the power of what these movies are about... We are still discussing what the opening sequence in Persona might mean and the wealth of possibilities that can be read into this piece of work. I believe that's why it endures.