Quick Facts
Biography
Burhan Qurbani (Persian: برهان قربانی) (born in Erkelenz on 15 November 1980) is an Afghan-German film director, writer and actor of ethnic Hazara origin. His directing, writing and acting work include Shahada (2010), 20xBrandenburg (2010 TV documentary), Illusion (2007 short film). His modern day adaption of Alfred Döblin's modern classic novel Berlin Alexanderplatz was selected for the main competition of the 2020 Berlin International Filmfestival.
Notable works
Shahada
Shahada is a 2010 German drama film which narrates the fates of three German-born Muslims in Berlin who collide as they struggle to find 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.
20xBrandenburg
20xBrandenburg is an October 2010, Krieger ohne feind (16 minutes) German TV documentary directed by Burhan Qurbani.
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, but it lost out to Labyrinth of Lies.
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 ethnic group. His family moved to Germany during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.