Each new Atom Egoyan film invites reflection, but Adoration provokes new debates, furthering the themes of his nearly twenty-five-year body of work. Urgent, elegant and simmering with ideas, this is a fugue for our age of terror and shifting identities. When his high-school French class is asked to translate a news article about a terrorist who planted a bomb in his pregnant girlfriend’s luggage, Simon (Devon Bostick) starts digging into his own family’s murky past. His resulting claims about the deaths of his father, Sami (Noam Jenkins), and mother, Rachel (Rachel Blanchard), stir up a storm that splashes into communities both local and virtual.

With Adoration, his twelfth feature, Egoyan lays out themes of technology, terrorism and fear, using them as a composer employs sections of an orchestra, bringing different tones and textures to the fore. In one bravura sequence, an online community exchanges opinions about violence and victimhood, its many faces and voices mingling in a searing chorus of pain. Years after Family Viewing and The Sweet Hereafter, this Canadian master revisits the fractured ground of human communication and self-presentation in Adoration, but with a cinematic language that has grown even richer. The film is full of notable performances, including Scott Speedman as Simon’s well-meaning uncle and Arsinée Khanjian as the mysterious French teacher Simon turns to for advice and consolation.

Ecumenical Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival * Special Jury Citation for the City of Toronto-Citytv Award for Best Canadian Feature Film, Toronto International Film Festival * Vancouver International Film Festival

- Cameron Bailey

Panel Statement
By pushing the boundaries of cinematic storytelling, Atom Egoyan brilliantly weaves together a powerful and poignant tale of secrets and loss, identity and love. Featuring stunning performances by Arsinée Khanjian, Scott Speedman and Devon Bostick, Adoration lyrically addresses the fragile nature of our deepest thoughts, and how easily they can be influenced in this modern age.
- Jody Shapiro

Atom Egoyan was born in Cairo and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. He studied international relations and classical guitar at the University of Toronto. In addition to filmmaking, he has created works for the theatre and for interdisciplinary art installations, including his piece Auroras, which was part of the 2007 Luminato Festival in Toronto. His films, many of which have received prestigious awards, are Next of Kin (84), Family Viewing (87), Speaking Parts (89), The Adjuster (91), Calendar (93), Exotica (94), The Sweet Hereafter (97), Felicia's Journey (99), Krapp's Last Tape (00), Ararat (02), Where the Truth Lies (05) and Adoration (08).