Canadian Press
July 6 2004

Egoyan film wins top prize at Armenian festival

YEREVAN, ARMENIA

Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie Ararat won the top prize at the
Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic Armenian directors,
officials said yesterday.

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 from Turkey left 1.5
million dead and amounted to genocide.

The title refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as their
national symbol but which now lies in Turkey.

In 2003, the film won five Genie Awards, including best picture.