Family Viewing

Director: Atom Egoyan

Film Info

  • Year: 1987
  • Film Format: 35mm or 16mm
  • Origin: Canada
  • Runtime: 96
  • Color
  • Language: English
The fractured family of FAMILY VIEWING consists of Stan, a mild sexual sadist; Sandra, his live-in mistress and video bondage partner; and his 17-year old son Van. Van’s deep resentment of his father becomes the catalyst of a plot to free his beloved grandmother from an old age home and establish a new, blissfully “happy” family. Egoyan weaves an ironic tale of characters who seem most alive when they’re captured on videotape.

FAMILY VIEWING is available on the FAMILY VIEWING/NEXT OF KIN DVD.

Atom Egoyan

Atom Egoyan (born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian film and stage director best known for The Sweet Hereafter and Exotica.

Egoyan was born to Armenian parents in Egypt. His family moved to Canada when he was two years old. His work often explores themes of alienation and isolation, featuring characters whose interactions are mediated through technology, bureaucracy or other power structures. Egoyan's films often follow non-linear plot structures, in which events are placed out of sequence in order to elicit specific emotional reactions from the audience by withholding key information.

His most critically acclaimed film is the drama The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and his biggest commercial success came with the erotic thriller Chloe (2009). Egoyan has been nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, both for The Sweet Hereafter. He also won several awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Genie Awards.

His most recent film The Captive premiered in competition at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.