GUEST OF HONOUR

Jim and his daughter Veronica, a young high-school music teacher, attempt to unravel their complicated histories and intertwined secrets. After a hoax goes very wrong, Jim’s daughter is falsely convicted for abusing her position of authority over 17-year-old Clive. Veronica is nevertheless convinced she deserves to be punished, but for much earlier crimes. Confused and frustrated by Veronica’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his job as a food inspector. He wields great power over small family-owned restaurants; a power he doesn’t hesitate to use.

ATOM EGOJAN / ATOM EGOYAN

Atom Egoyan (1960) is a Canadian stage and film director, writer, and producer. Born in Egypt, he was raised in Canada. He graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. He has had two Oscar nominations and his films have won numerous awards. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica (1994). His most critically acclaimed film is the drama The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and his biggest commercial success is the erotic thriller Chloe (2009). In 2008, Egoyan received the Dan David Prize for “Creative Rendering of the Past”. His later received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest royal honour in the performing arts, in 2015.