Burhan Qurbani

{{short description|German-Afghan film director}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

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| name = Burhan Qurbani

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| image = Burhan Qurbani - 32992878546 (cropped).jpg

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| caption = Burhan Qurbani

| native_name = برهان قربانی

| native_name_lang = Persian

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|11|15|df=y}}

| birth_place = Erkelenz, West Germany
(now Germany)

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| citizenship = German

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| alma_mater = {{Nowrap|Film Academy Baden-Württemberg}}

| occupation = Film director, writer, actor

| years_active = 2006 – present

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| known_for = Shahada

| notable_works = {{Nowrap|Shahada (film)
Illusion (2007 German short film)
20xBrandenburg}}

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Burhan Qurbani ({{langx|Prs|برهان قربانی}}) (born in Erkelenz on 15 November 1980) is a German film director, writer and actor of Afghan origin. His directing, writing, and acting works include Shahada (2010), 20xBrandenburg (2010 TV documentary), and Illusion (2007 short film).{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2546059/|title=Burhan Qurbani|website=IMDb }} His modern day adaption of Alfred Döblin's modern classic novel Berlin Alexanderplatz was selected for the main competition of the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/berlin-alexanderplatz-review-1203514681/|title='Berlin Alexanderplatz': Film Review|last=Kiang|first=Jessica|date=2020-02-26|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-02-27}}

His 2025 film No Beast. So Fierce., which is loosely based on Shakespeare's drama Richard III but focusses on a strong woman in the leading role, had its premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in Berlinale Special section on 14 February 2025. It will be released on 8 May 2025 in the German theaters.{{Cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/472576 |title= The Berlinale unveils the titles playing in its Competition and its Perspectives and Berlinale Special strands|author= Davide Abbatescianni|date=21 January 2025|access-date=28 January 2025 |website= Cineuropa |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2025/01/berlin-film-festival-competition-line-up-2025-follow-live-1236262137/|title=Berlin Film Festival Lineup: Richard Linklater, Jessica Chastain, A$AP Rocky & Marion Cotillard Movies Among Vibrant Selection |last=Ntim |first=Zac |date=21 January 2025|access-date=28 January 2025 |website= Deadline |language=en-US}}

Notable works

=''Shahada''=

{{Main|Shahada (film)}}

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 at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.{{Cite web|url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/2010/02_programm_2010/02_Programm_2010.html|title = Programme 2010}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-berlin-shahada-idUSTRE61G37D20100217 |title=Film explores Muslims struggling with life in West |newspaper=Reuters |date=17 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2017 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201135410/http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/17/us-berlin-shahada-idUSTRE61G37D20100217 |url-status=live |last1=Marsh |first1=Sarah }}

=''20xBrandenburg''=

20xBrandenburg is a 16-minute German TV documentary directed by Qurbani, released in October 2010.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1727248/|title = 20xBrandenburg (TV Movie 2010) - IMDb| website=IMDb }}

=''We Are Young. We Are Strong''=

{{Main|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 directed by Qurbani, a fictionalized account of the 1992 xenophobic Rostock-Lichtenhagen riots. It was one of eight films shortlisted by Germany to be their submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards,{{cite web |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/germany-picks-final-eight-titles-to-vie-for-oscar-submission-20150813 |title=Germany Picks Final Eight Titles to Vie for Oscar Submission |work=IndieWire |date=13 August 2015 |accessdate=13 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200403/http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/germany-picks-final-eight-titles-to-vie-for-oscar-submission-20150813 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }} but it lost out to Labyrinth of Lies.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-germany-picks-labryinth-lies-818100 |title=Oscars: Germany Picks 'Labryinth of Lies' for Foreign Language Category |last=Roxborough |first=Scott |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=27 August 2015 |accessdate=27 August 2015}}

=''Berlin Alexanderplatz''=

{{main|Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020 film)}}

=''No Beast. So Fierce.''=

{{main|No Beast. So Fierce.}}

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).{{cite web|url=http://filmlab.jsfs.co.il/?p%3D1022 |title=Burhan Qurbani | the Jerusalem International Film Lab |accessdate=2012-04-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930105034/http://filmlab.jsfs.co.il/?p=1022 |archivedate=2013-09-30 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2546059/awards|title=Burhan Qurbani|website=IMDb }}

Personal life

Qurbani is from Afghanistan and belongs to the Hazara ethnic group. His family moved to Germany during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hazarapeople.com/2010/11/08/hazara-filmmaker-burhan-qurbani/|title = Hazara filmmaker Burhan Qurbani directed a prize-winning film|date = 7 November 2010}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/world/europe/18germany.html?_r=1|title = With Film, Afghan-German is a Foreigner at Home|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 17 October 2010|last1 = Slackman|first1 = Michael}}

References