16 Facts About Atom Egoyan

Atom Egoyan was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave.

Atom Egoyan is considered by local film critic Geoff Pevere to be one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation.

Atom Egoyan was named Atom to mark the completion of Egypt's first nuclear reactor.

Atom Egoyan graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto.

In interviews, Atom Egoyan credited Nahabedian for introducing him to the language and history of his ethnic heritage.

Atom Egoyan wrote for the University of Toronto's independent weekly, The Newspaper, during his time at the school.

Atom Egoyan began making films in the early 1980s; his debut film Next of Kin world-premiered at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg and won a major prize.

Atom Egoyan directed the 1985 Twilight Zone episode "The Wall".

Atom Egoyan received the Grand Prix in Brussels, the FIPRESCI Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and Best Motion Picture at the Canadian Screen Awards.

In 2004, Atom Egoyan opened Camera Bar, a 50-seat cinema-lounge on Queen Street West in Toronto.

Atom Egoyan joined the Faculty of Arts and Science as the Dean's Distinguished Visitor in theatre, film, music, and visual studies.

The success of Chloe led Atom Egoyan to receive many scripts of erotic thrillers.

In 2015, Atom 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.

Atom Egoyan is based in Toronto, where he lives with his wife, actress Arsinee Khanjian, who appears in many of his films, and their son, Arshile.

In 1999, Atom 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.

In 2017, Atom Egoyan was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Film Festival of India.