Four-time winner at the Cannes Film Festival, Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan (b. 1960) began his career while still an undergraduate at the University of Toronto. His first love was playwriting, but he began to see that he could investigate themes emotionally through film- that the camera could play a role. He learned his craft in his own independent films and by directing television episodes before attempting his first feature film, Next of Kin (1984). There he explored the themes of family and identity that continue to interest him today.

A frequent winner at film festivals,...