In a world of temptation, obsession is the deadliest desire.

Exotica is a moody, psychological study of one man's all-consuming guilt and obsessions. Francis, a tax accountant whose wife and child have both died, finds himself irresistibly drawn to a local strip joint known as 'Exotica'. Every night he goes there to gaze upon Christina, a friend of his deceased daughter whose performance consists of shedding the little-girl costume she wears onstage. But the dancer's ex-boyfriend, disturbed by Francis's creepy presence, demands that he stay away from both the club and the young woman. So Francis hires a friend to keep an eye on Christina and report all her doings to him. However, he still cannot accept the loss of his child nor keep his mind off Christina. It's almost as if only death and Christina's fall from grace sustain him.

Atom Egoyan continues to explore his fascination with human relationships, the perilous nature of sexual love, the seduction of voyeurism and the ideology of the 'family': Exotica brings together a myriad of characters bound to each other by desire and loss, and distills the tensions inherent in their alliances. It questions the foundations of relationships, the nature of desire and the misconceptions harboured in both. Egoyan weaves a beguiling and spellbinding mood over this exploration of how we construct our own realities and illusions while we search for a comfortable centre.

As well as garnering a Golden Prize nomination at Cannes, Exotica won multiple awards on its cinematic release, including an unprecedented eight Genie Awards (including Best Motion Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Direction).