Siddiq Barmak


Siddiq Barmak is an Afghan film director and producer. In 2004, Barmak won Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes for his first feature film, Osama. He received an M.A degree in cinema direction from the Moscow Film Institute in 1987.

Osama

There is a stylistic echo in Osama featured in Afghan films by the Iranian Makhmalbaf dynasty. Barmak directed Osama with significant funding and assistance from Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The Iranian director invested in the film, lending Barmak his Arriflex camera and encouraging him to send the movie to international festivals, which eventually generated further funding from Japanese and Irish producers. Barmak received "UNESCO’s Fellini Silver Medal" for his drama, Osama, in 2003.

Afghan Children Education Movement

Barmak is also director of the Afghan Children Education Movement, an association that promotes literacy, culture and the arts, which was also founded by Makhmalbaf. The school trains actors and directors for newly emerging Afghan cinema.
Barmak is one of the celebrated figures in Persian cinema as well as the emerging cinema of Afghanistan.

Filmography

He has written screenplays and has made short films and produced a number of films.