Calendar (1993)

Director:

Atom Egoyan

Writer:

Atom Egoyan (written by)

Release Date:

3 June 1993 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A photographer and his wife take photographs of Armenian churches for use in a calendar. Their driver...

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Driver | Calendar | Photograph | Armenian

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Arsinée Khanjian	...	Translator
Ashot Adamyan	...	Driver (as Ashot Adamian)
Atom Egoyan	...	Photographer
Michelle Bellerose	...	Guest
Natalia Jasen	...	Guest
Susan Hamann	...	Guest
Sveta Kohli	...	Guest
Viva Tsvetnova	...	Guest
Roula Said	...	Guest (as Rula Said)
Annie Szamosi	...	Guest
Anna Pappas	...	Guest
Amanda Martínez	...	Guest (as Amanda Martinez)
Diane Kofri	...	Guest

Directed by
Atom Egoyan

Writing credits
Atom Egoyan		(written by)

Produced by
Atom Egoyan	....	producer
Arsinée Khanjian	....	co-producer: Armenia
Robert Lantos	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Norayr Kasper		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Atom Egoyan

Production Management
Garegin Zakoian	....	production manager: Armenia

Sound Department
Tyler Allen	....	trainee assistant editor
Yuri Hakobian	....	sound recordist: Armenia
Steve Munro	....	foley artist
Steve Munro	....	sound designer
Steve Munro	....	sound effects
Daniel Pellerin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ross Redfern	....	sound recordist: Toronto
Paul Shikata	....	assistant sound editor

Visual Effects by
Chris Wallace	....	hi-def colourist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Atom Egoyan	....	camera operator: 8mm video images, Armenia
David Owen	....	gaffer

Editorial Department
Doris Hepp	....	commissioning editor
Chris Hinton	....	film timer (as Christopher Hinton)
Paul Shikata	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Eve Egoyan	....	musician: piano
Jivan Gasparyan	....	musician: duduk
Hovhanness Tarpinian	....	musician: tar
Garo Tchaliguian	....	vocalist

Other crew
Norair Aslanian	....	title designer: Armenian titles
Alek Bayandoor	....	production assistant: Armenia
Daniel Bekerman	....	production assistant: Toronto
Kaspar Derderian	....	production assistant: Armenia
Norayr Kasper	....	production coordinator: Armenia
Zaven Sarkissian	....	location director: Armenia
Grigor Troyan	....	co-production coordinator: Armenia
Simone Urdl	....	production coordinator: Toronto
Gurgen Zakoian	....	production assistant: Armenia
Laurence Petit	....	press attache: France (uncredited)

Thanks
Wouter Barendrecht	....	thanks
Silva Basmajian	....	thanks
Mychael Danna	....	thanks
Sheila de la Varende	....	thanks (as Sheila de La Varende)
Niv Fichman	....	massive thanks
Gabrielle Rose	....	massive thanks

Production Companies

• Armenian National Cinematheque, The
• Ego Film Arts
• ZDF Television (as ZDF German Television)

Distributors

• Haut et Court (1995) (France) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2001) (Canada) (DVD)
• Zeitgeist Films (1994) (USA)

Other Companies

• Film House  sound re-recording
• Film Opticals  titles (as Film Opticals of Canada)
• Francont Film  negative cutting
• Medallion/PFA  laboratory

Also Known As:

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

Armenia | Canada | Germany

Language:

English | German | Russian | Armenian | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

Armenia

Company:

Armenian National Cinematheque, The

Trivia:

Film was mostly improvised, and made for barely $80,000.

Soundtrack:

Without You

Egoyan's experiment in story structure is fascinating and poignant.

This is a wonderful little film that I recently saw on a friend's recommendation, knowing virtually nothing about it except that I'd immensely enjoyed Atom Egoyan's "Exotica" and "the Sweet Hereafter". "Calendar" is not nearly as tragic as those two films; it concerns itself with the sadness of the disintegration of a relationship, but there is a subtle comedy to the film as well. The film is an experiment with a very specific, rigid, yet somehow apt structure: the film has twelve segments, one for each page of a beautiful calendar hanging by its photographer's phone. Laced into this structure is the story of the photographer and his wife's trip to Armenia, and the conflict that arises out of their different reactions to being in the land of their ancestry. It's all very well-told, and even though there is an element of inevitability, reinforced by the structure, the film never really strays into the realm of predictability. Finally, there are moments when the film seems to toy with breaking the sanctity of the fourth wall. This goes beyond the fact that the photographer and his wife are actually played by Mr. Egoyan and his wife. It's impossible to describe briefly and without spoiling the humor, though. If you're intrigued, check it out! You'll be glad.