UPDATE! Siddiq Barmak’s “Opium War” wins two more prestigious awards
Opium War, a film by director Siddiq Barmak which had won the Golden Marc’Aurelio Critics’ Award for Best Film at the Rome International Film Festival has now won two more prizes in two consecutive days: the Grand Prix in Batumi film festival (Georgia) on 29 September, and an award for the Best Director which was given to Siddiq Barmak in Prishtna Film festival (Kosovo) on 30 September 2009. We are proud that the film was first shown in a conference “Communicating with the Persian speaking World” at SOAS in June 2008. The distinguished director, Siddiq Barmak was present at the conference to discuss the film with participants of the conference after its screening.
A synopsis of the film:
In a far mountainous place after Taliban regime in Afghanistan, two American soldiers – one white officer and the other an African-American soldier – are lost after their helicopter had crashed. The soldier waits for a chance to run away from the officer while the wounded officer coerces the soldier with a pistol to carry him around. The two are in discords but they need each other to survive in the hostile land. When they cross the poppy field, the two soothe the pain from the hurt, fatigue and dread from the war by licking the substance of the poppy capsules. They soon notice armored personal carriers (APC) with a white flag in the middle of the poppy field, a symbol of Taliban. With nothing much in their hands, they begin attacking the vehicles. But what they find inside in the APCs is an Afghan family living inside…
The director Siddiq Barmak was born in Afghanistan in 1962. He studied filmmaking in Moscow. He had written a few screenplays and had made a few short films before he shot in Afghanistan his first feature film Osama. He was the director of the Afghan Film organization from 1992 to 1996 and after the establishment of the new government he was once again chosen to manage it. All his works were banned during the time of the Taliban.
