Burhan Qurbani ( fa, برهان قربانی) (born in

Erkelenz Erkelenz (, li, Erkelens ) is a town in the Rhineland in western Germany that lies southwest of Mönchengladbach on the northern edge of the Cologne Lowland, halfway between the Lower Rhine region and the Lower Meuse (river), Meuse. It is a med ...

on 15 November 1980) is a German film director, writer and actor of

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pa ...

origin. His directing, writing, and acting works include ''

Shahada The ''Shahada'' (Arabic: ٱلشَّهَادَةُ , "the testimony"), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there is ...

'' (2010), ''20xBrandenburg'' (2010 TV documentary), and ''Illusion'' (2007 short film). His modern day adaption of Alfred Döblin's modern classic novel ''

Berlin Alexanderplatz ''Berlin Alexanderplatz'' () is a 1929 novel by Alfred Döblin. It is considered one of the most important and innovative works of the Weimar Republic. In a 2002 poll of 100 noted writers the book was named among the top 100 books of all time. ...

'' was selected for the main competition of the

2020 Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director ...

Notable works

''Shahada''

Shahada is a 2010 German drama film which narrates the fates of three German-born Muslims in Berlin whose paths collide as they struggle to find a middle ground between faith and modern life in western society. The film was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

60th Berlin International Film Festival The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama ''Apart Together'', in com ...

''20xBrandenburg''

''20xBrandenburg'' is a 16-minute German TV documentary directed by Qurbani, released in October 2010.

''We Are Young. We Are Strong''

''We Are Young. We Are Strong'' (in German, ''Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark'') is a 2014 German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Qurbani, a fictionalized account of the 1992 xenophobic

Rostock-Lichtenhagen riots From August 22 to August 24, 1992 violent xenophobic riots took place in the Lichtenhagen district of Rostock, Germany; these were the worst mob attacks against migrants in postwar Germany. Stones and petrol bombs were thrown at an apartment block ...

. It was one of eight films shortlisted by Germany to be their submission for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

at the

88th Academy Awards The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Du ...

, but it lost out to ''

Labyrinth of Lies ''Labyrinth of Lies'' (german: Im Labyrinth des Schweigens) is a 2014 German drama film directed by Giulio Ricciarelli. Based on true events, it was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Fest ...

''.

''Berlin Alexanderplatz''

Awards

The awards won by Qurbani include *Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas for ''Shahada'' (2010) film *Jury Award (Made in Hamburg), including the 2008 German Film Critics Prize for the short film ''Illusion'' (2007).

Personal life

Qurbani is from Afghanistan and belongs to the

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Ethnic groups * The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin * Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan * Hazar ...

ethnic group. His family moved to Germany during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qurbani, Burhan Afghan emigrants to Germany German film directors German-language film directors German people of Hazara descent Living people Hazara film directors 1980 births Naturalized citizens of Germany