Opium War (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Opium War is a 2008 Afghan black comedy film directed by Siddiq Barmak
. The film was shot entirely in Afghanistan and revolves around the experiences of two American soldiers (Peter Bussian
and Joe Suba), who crash their helicopter in the Afghan desert and find themselves at the mercy of the natural elements and an eclectic family of Afghan Opium farmers.
In order to create a realistic setting of an opium poppy
field, Barmak had to obtain permission from the Afghan government to plant the crop because growing opium poppies was declared illegal in Afghanistan in 2002. Several challenges were faced by the filmmakers, with regards to the poppy field, before filming was completed. Most notably, Afghan poppy eradication teams attempted to destroy his film set twice and the lack of rain forced Barmak to drill a well for irrigation as well as to bring in water tankers from as far away as 30 km.
The film was Afghanistan's official submission to the 2009 Academy Awards. Opium War was screened at several international film festivals, including the 2008 edition of Rome Film Festival, where it won The Golden Marc’Aurelio Critics’ Award for Best Film.
Siddiq Barmak
Siddiq Barmak in Panjshir, Afghanistan, is a film director and producer. He received an M.A degree in cinema direction from the Moscow Film Institute in 1987.He has written a few screenplays and has made a few short films...
. The film was shot entirely in Afghanistan and revolves around the experiences of two American soldiers (Peter Bussian
Peter Bussian
Peter Bussian is an American photographer and filmmaker who is known mainly for his images of refugees and other international development issues...
and Joe Suba), who crash their helicopter in the Afghan desert and find themselves at the mercy of the natural elements and an eclectic family of Afghan Opium farmers.
In order to create a realistic setting of an opium poppy
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
field, Barmak had to obtain permission from the Afghan government to plant the crop because growing opium poppies was declared illegal in Afghanistan in 2002. Several challenges were faced by the filmmakers, with regards to the poppy field, before filming was completed. Most notably, Afghan poppy eradication teams attempted to destroy his film set twice and the lack of rain forced Barmak to drill a well for irrigation as well as to bring in water tankers from as far away as 30 km.
The film was Afghanistan's official submission to the 2009 Academy Awards. Opium War was screened at several international film festivals, including the 2008 edition of Rome Film Festival, where it won The Golden Marc’Aurelio Critics’ Award for Best Film.