Associated Press
July 6 2004

‘Ararat’ film wins top ‘Golden Apricot’

Canadian director Atom Egoyan poses before the screening of his
film “Ararat,” at the 55th International Film Festival in Cannes,
southern France on May 20, 2002. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
YEREVAN, Armenia — Atom Egoyan’s film “Ararat” won the top prize at
the Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic Armenian
directors, officials said Monday.

The festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries.
Egoyan is a Canadian of Armenian heritage.

The film depicts the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians
say that a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern
Turkey left 1.5 million people dead and amounted to genocide. The
title refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as their national
symbol but which now lies in Turkey.