Sunday, November 2, 2008

Barmak appears once again




Opium War an Afghn feature film wins the Citics Award of the 3rd Edition of Rome International Film Festival 2008 in Italy.

Opium War is Seddiq Barmak's second feature film after his long absence from 2002 when he made his first successful feature Osama that won many prestigious international awards.
The director was not appearing seriously on the ground of cinema after Osama in 2002, while during this gap he has been assisting some video projects of the young filmmakers and working as a consultant for private television channels in Kabul.
This time, his appearance with Opium War would once again represent the appearance of the Afghan Cinema on international screens.



While the viewers were expecting presence of this film in the festival earlier, it is the first serious appearance of this film in international festivals.

We congratulate The Director, Seddiq Barmak and the multi national crew of his film for Opium War, winning the Critics Award of Rome International Film Festvial 2008 .

It is heard that Opium War would be the Official Afghanistan submission to the 2009 Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category too.



Synopsis
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…

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.


Film Info:
OPIUM WAR 2008 - 90' Color, 35 mm
Afghanistan, Japan, South Korea, France, 2008
Director Siddiq Barmak
Cast Peter Bussian (Don Johnson), Joe Suba (Joe Harris), Fawad Samani (Scorpion), Marina Golbahari (Mad Girl).
Screenplay Siddiq Barmak
Cinematography Georgi Dzulaiev
Editing Michele Hickson
Production Design Bakhteyar Qaharov
Music DalerNazarov
Producer Siddiq Barmak, Shohreh Golparian
Production Barmak Film
Co-producer Haruo Kawashima, Suh Youngjoo, Carole Scotta
Co-productionHappinet Pictures, Cineclick Asia, Haut et Court
DistributionInternational DistributionCineclick Asia – DaeLim apt 736-602, Sanbon-dong, Gunpo-si – 435-040 Kyunggyi Province (South Korea) – T. +82 10 4722 5120
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