A former discovery of the festival is finally back in Mannheim: Atom Egoyan will be honoured „Master of Cinema“ at the „58th International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg 2009“

Mannheim-Heidelberg, IFMH, 6 October 2009 --- His career took off in Mannheim: In 1984, 24-years-old director Atom Egoyan won one of the most prestigious awards for young cinema, a Golden Ducat at the Mannheim Film Festival for his film „Next of Kin“.

On 6 November 2009, the Canadian filmmaker with Armenian origins will be back in Mannheim receiving the festival’s renowned „Master of Cinema Award“, after having accomplished 13 extraordinary films. The festival bestows the „Master of Cinema Award“ each year to a film director who explores the possibilities of the art of cinema and pushes its boundaries to new extents.

In the meantime, Egoyan has become a dear guest to the festivals in Cannes and Berlin and also was awarded several Academy Award nominations. The festival will show his film „Next of Kin“ in the framework of a gala to his honour on Friday, 6 November 2009, and also a selection of his films.

„One of our original discoveries is finally back in Mannheim“, says Dr. Michael Koetz, director of the festival. „We are very excited to welcome him here, a now renowned filmmaker who has been honoured with the Canadian Genie Award and received several nominations for the Oscar’s. The world of images created by Atom Egoyan in his films hits the heart. Images encompassing the symbolic as well as touching very personal issues. Very often they revolve around the search for family, for security and personal history. The topics of an auteur filmmaker par excellence.“

The Egoyan retrospective will feature the following films:

ADORATION, 2008
ARARAT, 2002
FELICIA’S JOURNEY 1999
NEXT OF KIN, 1984
THE SWEET HEREAFTER, 1997

The award ceremony will be accompanied by a public press conference with Atom Egoyan.
In previous years, the Master of Cinema Award has been given to Aleksandr Sokurov, Raoul Ruiz, Wim Wenders, Edgar Reitz, Theo Angelopoulos, Otar Iosseliani and Zhang Yimou.
The 58th International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg takes place from 5 to 15 November 2009.