Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, OC (born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica (1994), a film set primarily in and around the fictional Exotica strip club. Egoyan was born to Armenian parents in Egypt. His family moved to Canada when he was two years old. His work often explores themes of alienation and isolation, featuring characters whose interactions are mediated through technology, bureaucracy or other power structures. Egoyan's films often follow non-linear plot structures, in which events are placed out of sequence in order to elicit specific emotional reactions from the audience by withholding key information. His most critically acclaimed film is the drama The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and his biggest commercial success is the erotic thriller Chloe (2009). Egoyan has been nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, both for The Sweet Hereafter. He also won several awards at Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Genie Awards. In 2008 Egoyan received the Dan David Prize for "Creative Rendering of the Past".