Barmak’s Opium War: Readied for Cannes

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I’ll be offering my early bird predictions for the films slated for the upcoming 08′ edition of the Cannes film festival shortly, but here is a sure bet for one film that is well positioned to make a trip to the croisette.

Circa 2003, the Director’s Fortnight saw a stunning portrait from Afghan director Siddiq Barmak. Osama would claim three prizes at the fest, collect a Golden Globe win, it was especially well received by critics and elicited this response from me “…Barmak’s unflinching docu-drama depiction of the frightening Taliban terror is a
traumatizing watch-but a necessary one. Filmed with the country’s only 35mm
camera at a total cost of the price of used Volvo…
“.

Listed as a project currently in post-prod, Barmak’s  Opium War tells the story of a U.S. chopper that crashes in an Afghan desert, leaving a white officer and a black soldier encounter a local family living in deserted Russian tanks. 

Here is the first look at the production poster one sheet.

Siddiq Barmak Opium War

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). He is a Golden Globes Voter, member of the ICS (International Cinephile Society) and AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma).

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