Siddiq Barmak was born on September 7, 1962, in the picturesque Panjshir region of Afghanistan. This renowned film director and producer would go on to receive a Master's degree in cinema direction from the prestigious Moscow Film Institute, VGIK, in 1987.
Throughout his illustrious career, Barmak has not only written screenplays but has also directed several short films. His feature film debut, Osama, would go on to win the prestigious Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2004.
Interestingly, Osama features a stylistic echo that can be seen in other Afghan films by the renowned Iranian Makhmalbaf dynasty. Barmak's film shares similarities with Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Kandahar and Samira Makhmalbaf's At Five in the Afternoon, which was also shot in post-Taliban Kabul. Notably, the elder Makhmalbaf invested significant funds in Osama, lending Barmak his Arriflex camera and encouraging him to submit the film to international festivals, which ultimately generated further funding from Japanese and Irish producers.
Barmak's achievements were recognized with UNESCO's Fellini Silver Medal for his drama, Osama, in 2003. Moreover, he is also the director of the Afghan Children Education Movement (ACEM),an organization that promotes literacy, culture, and the arts. Founded by Makhmalbaf, the school trains actors and directors for the newly emerging Afghan cinema. As a celebrated figure in Persian cinema as well as the emerging cinema of Afghanistan, Barmak continues to make a lasting impact on the film industry.
