PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Studies Program
University of Michigan
Phone: 734-763-0622
E-mail: [email protected]
EGOYAN REVISITS HIS FILM “ARARAT”
Renown film director highlights public lectures at the University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich. April 18, 2012. Award winning internationally renown
author, producer and film director Atom Egoyan discussed his famous
film “Ararat” on March 19, 2012 at the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, at the invitation of the Armenian Studies Program at that
university. Egoyan was the designated 2012 “Dr. Berj H. Haidostian
Annual Distinguished Lecturer,” on the occasion of the 10th
anniversary of the release of that epochal film.
With fourteen films and related projects to his credit, Atom Egoyan
has won numerous internationally recognized awards including five
prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, two Academy award nominations,
eight Genie Awards as well as major awards at film festivals in
Hamburg, Tokyo, Jerusalem, Reykjavik, Las Palmas, Hong Kong, Cairo and
Athens. In 2010 Egoyan had a retrospective of his films at the
Filmoteca Espagnol in Madrid, following similar events in previous
years in Paris and New York.
In this lecture titled “Ararat-Ten years After,” Atom Egoyan discussed
the genesis of the idea for that work, the challenges he faced when
making it, and the various and conflicting responses he received
following the release of “Ararat.”
Mr. Egoyan’s thought provoking lecture, attended by a large and
diverse public and webcast live, was followed by an extended period of
questions and answers. The session will be made available on the
program’s website soon, ().
The “Dr. Berj H. Haidostian Distinguished Annual Lecture” was
established by the family of the late Dr. Berj H. Haidostian, a
prominent and devoted physician, in honor of his long relationship
with the University of Michigan and the Armenian Studies Program.
Recent Haidostian Distinguished Lecturers have included Dr. Gerard
Chaliand of Paris, Dr. Fiona Hill of the Brookings Institution, Mr.
Thomas de Waal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dr.
Vartan Gregorian of the Carnegie Foundation, Armenia’s Ambassador to
the US Arman Kirakosian, and the US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans.
Mr Egoyan’s lecture highlighted a year rich with public lectures,
marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Alex
Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian History and the Armenian Studies
Program itself.
In addition to events related to the 30th anniversary, the fall 2011
schedule included lectures by professors Kevork Bardakjian (“How to
Petition for Poetic Grace?: Kostandin Erznkac’i’s ‘Strange’
Vision-poem” ), Ronald Suny (“The New Turkey and the Issue of
Genocide: Armenians in a Progressive Imagination”) and Gerard
Libaridian (“From Historian to Accidental Diplomat: The Writing of
History Before & After Participating in its Making”)of the University
of Michigan; Professor Azat Yeghiazaryan, Yerevan, (“Charents and
Revolution,” and Professor Artin Aslanian of Maris College, New York,
(“The British Imperial Ethos: Britain & Transcaucasia, 1917-1920”).
The public lectures in the Winter 2012 semester included Dr. Hikmet
Hadjy-Zadeh, Baku, (“Azerbaijan: 20 Years of Independence”), and
Manoogian Simone Post-doctoral Fellows Dr. Levon Petrosyan (“Gregory
of Narek and the Narekian Fathers: The Mystery of Love from the
Commentary of Song of Songs to the Book of Lamentations,”) and Dr.
Arsen Saparov (“Why Autonomy? The Making of Nagorno-Karabakh 1918-1925”.
Videos of these lectures are available on the ASP website:
Armenian Studies Program
The University of Michigan’s Armenian Studies Program promotes the
study of Armenian history, culture, and society. A member of the
University of Michigan International Institute, the program organizes
educational opportunities for students, faculty and the community. For
more information, contact the Armenian Studies Program at (734)
763-0622 or visit
University of Michigan International Institute
The University of Michigan International Institute houses 18 centers
and programs focused on world regions and global themes. The institute
develops and supports international teaching, research, and public
affairs programs to promote global understanding across the campus and
to build connections with intellectuals and institutions worldwide.
For more information, visit
http://www.ii.umich.edu/asp/events/video.
www.ii.umich.edu/asp/events/video
www.umich.edu/~iinet/asp/.
www.ii.umich.edu.