Ararat
The Shooting Script

Atom Egoyan (Author)

Availability: Out of stock

Paperback
(ISBN: 1-55704-552-6)
$18.95
Newmarket Press (Publisher)
2002 New York
143 pages
Size: 7" x 9"
Language(s): English

Ararat is a contemporary story of two estranged families and their search for reconciliation and truth. A film-within-a-film, it is also a historical re-enactment being made by a famous Armenian director, Edward Saroyan, whose production is based on Clarence Ussher's actual book An American Physician in Turkey, which depicts the Siege of Van and the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Seamlessly shifting through time, writer/director Atom Egoyan explores the quest for personal, sexual, and cultural identity through the intimate moments shared by lovers, families, enemies, and strangers. At the center of the film are an 18-year-old boy on the cusp of adulthood, Raffi, and a man on the eve of his retirement, David. Raffi returns to Canada with cans of 35mm film, digital tapes, and a mystery. He is sent to customs for inspection. David is determined to discover what Raffi is concealing. According to Raffi, the canisters contain ""additional"" material for a film being shot in Toronto, but David suspects otherwise and his questioning leads to an intense psychological examination. Raffi struggles with the memory of his father and his very present mother, Ani, an art historian specializing in the work of the great abstract expressionist painter Arshile Gorky. Raffi is also torn between his mother and his relationship with his stepsister, Celia, who blames Ani for her own father's death. David is coming to terms with his gay son Philip, and Philip's lover, Ali, while trying to build a solid relationship with his grandson, Tony. When Ali, an actor, is cast in the Saroyan film, the paths of these two families become inextricably linked, culminating in David's intense interrogation of Raffi's mysterious cargo. What begins as a search for clues becomes a quest for truth across a vast and ancient terrain of lies, deception, denial, fact, and fear. The cast includes David Alpay, Charles Aznavour, Eric Bogosian, Brent Carver, Marie-Josee Croze, Bruce Greenwood, Arsinee Khanjian, Elias Koteas, and Christopher Plummer. Ararat won five Canadian Genie Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Arsinee Khanjian), Best Supporting Actor (Elias Koteas), Best Original Score and Best Costumes. In the acclaimed Newmarket Shooting Script� series, the book includes the screenplay and an introduction by Atom Egoyan, an afterword by Tim Taylor, stills from the film, and full cast and crew credits. Visit the official Ararat movie website at http://serendipitypoint.com/ararat/.

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