Atom Egoyan

Directing

Atom Egoyan

Born

1960-07-19 (66)

Place of birth

Cairo, United Arab Republic [now Egypt]

Known for

Directing

Credits

64 titles

Atom Egoyan CC (/ɛˈɡɔɪən/; Armenian: Ատոմ Եղոյեան, romanized: Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is an Armenian-Canadian filmmaker. One of the most preeminent directors of the Toronto New Wave, he emerged during the 1980s and made his career breakthrough with Exotica (1994), a hyperlink film set in a strip club. He followed this with his most critically acclaimed film, The Sweet Hereafter (1997), an adaptation of the Russell Banks novel of the same name, for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Egoyan's other significant films include The Adjuster (1991), Ararat (2002), Where the Truth Lies (2005), Adoration (2008), Chloe (2009), Devil's…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 3 titles

2010s · 7 titles

Barney's Version poster
7.0

The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.

Barney's Version

2010

Venice 70: Future Reloaded poster
5.0

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.

Venice 70: Future Reloaded

2013

Le cri du rhinocéros poster
5.0

Marc Labrèche, the Director of this documentary, himself an author, actor and host, meets other creators to ask them these questions that inhabit him. Do artists have an expiry date? Do we create our best works in our youth or, on the contrary, does experience allow us to develop a greater mastery of our medium? In this respect, are there important differences between the different forms of art such as music, cinema and literature?

Le cri du rhinocéros

2018

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Missing

2016

The Rep - A Documentary poster
NR

Follows the first year of business for Alex, Charlie, and Nigel as they try to make their theatre, The Toronto Underground Cinema, a success in the dying world of repertory cinema. The film also places the cinema in context to the larger world of rep. Featuring interviews with theatres such as Film Forum in NYC, The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, and The New Beverly Cinema in L.A., and celebrities such as Kevin Smith, John Waters, Atom Egoyan, and George A. Romero, the world of repertory cinema will come alive as a vibrant and culturally significant medium that needs to be preserved

The Rep - A Documentary

2012

Rewind This! poster
6.9

Home video changed the world. The cultural and historical impact of the VHS tape was enormous. This film traces the ripples of that impact by examining the myriad aspects of society that were altered by the creation of videotape.

Rewind This!

2013

Sculpting Memory poster
NR

Sculpting Memory places Atom Egoyan in an audiovisual environment woven from the fabric of his own films―a conceptual move that references Egoyan’s adaptation of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape while evoking Egoyan’s own work as a moving-image installation artist and his concern with the recording and displaying of images.

Sculpting Memory

2015

2000s · 6 titles

This Film Is Not Yet Rated poster
7.1

Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

2006

Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film poster
10.0

Follows the "Beckett on Film" project, which produced film adaptations of writer Samuel Beckett's nineteen stage plays. The documentary features excerpts from the "Beckett on Film" versions of "Not I", "Krapp's Last Tape", "Endgame", "What Where", and "Waiting for Godot".

Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film

2003

It Came from Kuchar poster
7.2

It Came from Kuchar is the definitive, feature documentary about the legendary, underground filmmaking twins, the Kuchar brothers. George and Mike Kuchar have inspired two generations of filmmakers, actors, musicians, and artists with their zany, "no budget" films and with their uniquely enchanting spirits.

It Came from Kuchar

2009

Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche poster
6.0

This compelling documentary explores Canadian film culture and tries to discover what defines Canadian film through interviews with notable filmmakers.

Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche

2004

No artwork available
NR

A documentary about a journey to Beirut

Citadel

2006

François Girard en trois actes poster
NR

In September 2004, filmmaker and director François Girad began an impressive season on stage that brought him from Montreal to New York and Toronto. He then attacks Kafka, Wagner and the eclectic Lost Objects show. The film reveals the workings of the creation of a great visionary.

François Girard en trois actes

2006

1990s · 6 titles

The Stupids poster
4.8

An incredibly dull-witted family unknowingly stumble upon an illegal weapons deal while on the trail of their "stolen" garbage.

The Stupids

1996

Calendar poster
6.3

A photographer and his wife travel across Armenia photographing churches for a calendar project. Travelling with them is a local man acting as their driver and guide. As the project nears completion, the distance between husband and wife grows.

Calendar

1993

Camilla poster
5.6

Freda Lopez, an aspiring musician, travels with her husband to the beautiful beaches of Georgia where she befriends Camilla, an odd and exotic elderly woman who plays the violin. When the two embark on a journey together, Camilla reclaims a lost love and makes peace with herself and her son, while Freda discovers inner resources she never knew she had.

Camilla

1994

No artwork available
5.2

Documentary about the films of Atom Egoyan.

Formulas for Seduction: The Cinema of Atom Egoyan

1999

A Portrait of Arshile poster
8.5

Egoyan juxtaposes home-video images of his son Arshile with a self-portrait of the famed Armenian artist, Arshile Gorky; Egoyan narrates in English, while his wife narrates in Armenian. The self-portrait made from a photo of the artist as a child at the time of the great massacre of the Armenians is used as a focus for meditations on the nature of self-awareness, artistic expression, and the relationship between the artist and the viewer.

A Portrait of Arshile

1995

At Sundance poster
5.8

A group portrait of filmmakers attend the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Featuring Matthew Harrison, Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Todd Haynes, Greg Araki, Abel Ferrara, Atom Egoyan, James Gray, Robert Redford, Haskell Wexler, among many others. Co-directed by Amy Hobby. [Filmed in Pixelvision and blown-up to evocatively grainy 16mm.]

At Sundance

1995

Series credits

Behind the camera

Chloe poster
6.1

Catherine and David Stewart are a well-to-do couple living in a posh area of Toronto, but all is not well in paradise. Catherine suspects that David is cheating on her, so she hires an escort named Chloe to meet David and see if he gives in to temptation — but events spin out of control when Chloe spills the details of her torrid encounters.

Chloe

2010

Devil's Knot poster
6.2

The savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a satanic ritual.

Devil's Knot

2013

The Captive poster
5.8

Eight years after their daughter Cassandra's abduction tore them apart, an estranged couple discover disturbing clues that indicate that she is still alive.

The Captive

2014

The Captive poster
5.8

Eight years after their daughter Cassandra's abduction tore them apart, an estranged couple discover disturbing clues that indicate that she is still alive.

The Captive

2014

The Captive poster
5.8

Eight years after their daughter Cassandra's abduction tore them apart, an estranged couple discover disturbing clues that indicate that she is still alive.

The Captive

2014

Seven Veils poster
5.5

Jeanine, an earnest theatre director, has been given the task of remounting her former mentor’s most famous work, the opera Salome. Haunted by dark and disturbing memories from her past, she allows her repressed trauma to color the present as she re-enters the opera world after so many years away.

Seven Veils

2025

Seven Veils poster
5.5

Jeanine, an earnest theatre director, has been given the task of remounting her former mentor’s most famous work, the opera Salome. Haunted by dark and disturbing memories from her past, she allows her repressed trauma to color the present as she re-enters the opera world after so many years away.

Seven Veils

2025

Seven Veils poster
5.5

Jeanine, an earnest theatre director, has been given the task of remounting her former mentor’s most famous work, the opera Salome. Haunted by dark and disturbing memories from her past, she allows her repressed trauma to color the present as she re-enters the opera world after so many years away.

Seven Veils

2025

Where the Truth Lies poster
6.2

An ambitious reporter probes the reasons behind the sudden split of a 1950s comedy team.

Where the Truth Lies

2005

Where the Truth Lies poster
6.2

An ambitious reporter probes the reasons behind the sudden split of a 1950s comedy team.

Where the Truth Lies

2005

Remember poster
7.3

With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.

Remember

2015

Exotica poster
6.6

In the upscale Toronto strip club Exotica, dancer Christina is visited nightly by the obsessive Francis, a depressed tax auditor. Her ex-boyfriend, the club's MC, Eric, still jealously pines for her even as he introduces her onstage, but Eric is having his own relationship problems with the club's female owner. Thomas, a mysterious pet-shop owner, is about to become unexpectedly involved in their lives.

Exotica

1994

Exotica poster
6.6

In the upscale Toronto strip club Exotica, dancer Christina is visited nightly by the obsessive Francis, a depressed tax auditor. Her ex-boyfriend, the club's MC, Eric, still jealously pines for her even as he introduces her onstage, but Eric is having his own relationship problems with the club's female owner. Thomas, a mysterious pet-shop owner, is about to become unexpectedly involved in their lives.

Exotica

1994

Exotica poster
6.6

In the upscale Toronto strip club Exotica, dancer Christina is visited nightly by the obsessive Francis, a depressed tax auditor. Her ex-boyfriend, the club's MC, Eric, still jealously pines for her even as he introduces her onstage, but Eric is having his own relationship problems with the club's female owner. Thomas, a mysterious pet-shop owner, is about to become unexpectedly involved in their lives.

Exotica

1994

The Sweet Hereafter poster
6.9

A small mountain community in Canada is devastated when a school bus accident leaves more than a dozen of its children dead. A big-city lawyer arrives to help the survivors' and victims' families prepare a class-action suit, but his efforts only seem to push the townspeople further apart. At the same time, one teenage survivor of the accident has to reckon with the loss of innocence brought about by a different kind of damage.

The Sweet Hereafter

1997

The Sweet Hereafter poster
6.9

A small mountain community in Canada is devastated when a school bus accident leaves more than a dozen of its children dead. A big-city lawyer arrives to help the survivors' and victims' families prepare a class-action suit, but his efforts only seem to push the townspeople further apart. At the same time, one teenage survivor of the accident has to reckon with the loss of innocence brought about by a different kind of damage.

The Sweet Hereafter

1997

The Sweet Hereafter poster
6.9

A small mountain community in Canada is devastated when a school bus accident leaves more than a dozen of its children dead. A big-city lawyer arrives to help the survivors' and victims' families prepare a class-action suit, but his efforts only seem to push the townspeople further apart. At the same time, one teenage survivor of the accident has to reckon with the loss of innocence brought about by a different kind of damage.

The Sweet Hereafter

1997

Venice 70: Future Reloaded poster
5.0

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.

Venice 70: Future Reloaded

2013

Ararat poster
6.1

Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.

Ararat

2002

Ararat poster
6.1

Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.

Ararat

2002

Ararat poster
6.1

Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.

Ararat

2002

Guest of Honour poster
5.5

Veronica wants to remain in jail for a sexual assault she knows she's been wrongfully indicted for. She and her father, Jim, find themselves acting out of the bounds of good behavior as the past haunts them.

Guest of Honour

2020

Guest of Honour poster
5.5

Veronica wants to remain in jail for a sexual assault she knows she's been wrongfully indicted for. She and her father, Jim, find themselves acting out of the bounds of good behavior as the past haunts them.

Guest of Honour

2020

Guest of Honour poster
5.5

Veronica wants to remain in jail for a sexual assault she knows she's been wrongfully indicted for. She and her father, Jim, find themselves acting out of the bounds of good behavior as the past haunts them.

Guest of Honour

2020

Adoration poster
5.8

For his French-class assignment, a high school student weaves his family history in a news story involving terrorism, and goes on to invite an Internet audience in on the resulting controversy.

Adoration

2009

Adoration poster
5.8

For his French-class assignment, a high school student weaves his family history in a news story involving terrorism, and goes on to invite an Internet audience in on the resulting controversy.

Adoration

2009

Adoration poster
5.8

For his French-class assignment, a high school student weaves his family history in a news story involving terrorism, and goes on to invite an Internet audience in on the resulting controversy.

Adoration

2009

To Each His Own Cinema poster
6.4

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.

To Each His Own Cinema

2007

To Each His Own Cinema poster
6.4

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.

To Each His Own Cinema

2007

Felicia's Journey poster
6.3

Seventeen and pregnant, Felicia travels to England in search of her lover and is found instead by Joseph Ambrose Hilditch, a helpful catering manager whose kindness masks an unsettling secret.

Felicia's Journey

1999

Felicia's Journey poster
6.3

Seventeen and pregnant, Felicia travels to England in search of her lover and is found instead by Joseph Ambrose Hilditch, a helpful catering manager whose kindness masks an unsettling secret.

Felicia's Journey

1999

The Adjuster poster
6.0

An uptight insurance man and his film-censor wife become a kinky couple's landlords.

The Adjuster

1991

The Adjuster poster
6.0

An uptight insurance man and his film-censor wife become a kinky couple's landlords.

The Adjuster

1991

The Adjuster poster
6.0

An uptight insurance man and his film-censor wife become a kinky couple's landlords.

The Adjuster

1991

Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer poster
5.1

A look into the life of troubled former hockey player Brian Spencer, who got into problems both on the ice and off. The film also has a close focus on Spencer's father, and shows how he influenced Brian's violent life both before and after his death.

Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer

1993

Calendar poster
6.3

A photographer and his wife travel across Armenia photographing churches for a calendar project. Travelling with them is a local man acting as their driver and guide. As the project nears completion, the distance between husband and wife grows.

Calendar

1993

Calendar poster
6.3

A photographer and his wife travel across Armenia photographing churches for a calendar project. Travelling with them is a local man acting as their driver and guide. As the project nears completion, the distance between husband and wife grows.

Calendar

1993

Calendar poster
6.3

A photographer and his wife travel across Armenia photographing churches for a calendar project. Travelling with them is a local man acting as their driver and guide. As the project nears completion, the distance between husband and wife grows.

Calendar

1993

Family Viewing poster
5.4

An emotionally constrained view of the displacement of human feelings in our video saturated society. Van regularly visits his grandmother in a run-down nursing home. His father depends on phone sex for guidance meanwhile erasing family homevideos of happier times with homemade pornography. Will Van rescue his grandmother and memories of his mother in time?

Family Viewing

1987

Family Viewing poster
5.4

An emotionally constrained view of the displacement of human feelings in our video saturated society. Van regularly visits his grandmother in a run-down nursing home. His father depends on phone sex for guidance meanwhile erasing family homevideos of happier times with homemade pornography. Will Van rescue his grandmother and memories of his mother in time?

Family Viewing

1987