Burhan Qurbani () (born in

Erkelenz Erkelenz (, ) 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. It is a medium-sized town (over 44,000) ...

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

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

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

Shahada The ''Shahada'' ( ; , '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 no Ilah, god but God in Islam, God ...

'' (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 culture, Weimar Republic. In a 2002 poll of 100 noted writers, the book was named among the top 100 bo ...

'' 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 board: business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director ...

. His 2025 film '' No Beast. So Fierce.'', which is loosely based on Shakespeare's drama

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

but focusses on a strong woman in the leading role, had its premiere at the

75th Berlin International Film Festival The 75th annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place between 13 and 23 February 2025 in Berlin, Germany. American filmmaker Todd Haynes was named the Jury President for the main competition. It marked the f ...

in Berlinale Special section on 14 February 2025. It will be released on 8 May 2025 in the German theaters.

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 () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Qurbani, a fictionalized account of the 1992 xenophobic

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

. 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. D ...

, but it lost out to ''

Labyrinth of Lies ''Labyrinth of Lies'' () 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 Festival. It was selected as the German ...

''.

''Berlin Alexanderplatz''

''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).

Personal life

Qurbani is from Afghanistan and belongs to the

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Places and ethnic groups Afghanistan * Hazaras, an ethnic group and a principal component of the population of Afghanistan ** Hazarajat, or Hazaristan, a historic region of Afghanistan ** List of Hazara tribes Pakistan * H ...

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