News@UofT, Canada
Feb 19 2008
U of T’s Atom Egoyan shares prestigious international prize
Feb 19/08
by Anjali Baichwal (email)
Atom Egoyan, the Dean’s Distinguished Visitor in Theatre, Film, Music
and Visual Studies at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts and
Science, is one of the winners of the $1 million (U.S.) Dan David
Prize from the University of Tel Aviv.
The Dan David Prize annually awards three prizes each for
achievements having an outstanding scientific, technological,
cultural or social impact on our world. Each year fields are chosen
within the three Time Dimensions – Past, Present and Future. Egoyan’s
prize was given for the past, referring to fields that expand
knowledge of former times, noting his 2002 film, Ararat, which
documents the trauma of the Armenian genocide of 1915. The film also
reflects the complexity of translating the past into art. Egoyan
shares the prize for the past with author Amos Oz and playwright Tom
Stoppard.
`Atom Egoyan is one of this generation’s most celebrated observers of
contemporary society. He is also one of its most astute analysts of
the past and our relation to it. This prestigious prize is due
recognition of his contributions,’ said Professor Paul Young, U of
T’s vice-president (research), who nominated Egoyan for the prize.
"I’m particularly pleased with this award because of the specific
nature of what’s being recognized — the complex issue of what
constitutes our idea of history. Six years after its premiere, Ararat
continues to generate a provocative and ongoing response," said
Egoyan.
A U of T graduate, Egoyan is an internationally-renowned filmmaker,
video and installation artist, theatre and opera director, and
trained musician. His body of work has received both critical acclaim
and commercial success around the world. Egoyan’s 12 feature films
reflect his unique esthetics and explore his own personal thematic
obsessions, delving into issues of intimacy, displacement and the
impact of technology and media in modern life. His film The Sweet
Hereafter, released in 1997, garnered him Academy Award nominations
for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won
three prizes at the Cannes Film Festival and swept the Genies with a
total of eight awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best
Director.
Over the past five years, he has completed several art installations,
including works for the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Artangel in
London, the Venice Biennale, and Le Fresnoy in France. Egoyan is also
an opera director, making his debut in 1996 with the Canadian Opera
Company’s production of Salome. In 1998 the Tapestry Music Theatre of
Toronto mounted the world premiere of his original opera
Elsewhereless, composed by Rodney Sharman. Egoyan was also one of the
directors of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, a production of the
Canadian Opera Company that debuted last fall.
Egoyan will be kicking off U of T’s 2008 Festival of the Arts on
March 4 with a free public lecture at the Isabel Bader Theatre. Visit
for more information.
For more information on the Dan David Prize, visit: