Hisham Zaman
Director, screenwriter, and producer Hisham Zaman is known for his poignant cinematic style and his focus on the human stories and struggles of migrants and refugees. His films often use the European metropolis as a backdrop for exploring complex themes related to otherness, identity and belonging. He is a graduate of the Norwegian Film School, where he completed his studies in film directing in 2004. Zaman had his international breakthrough with the award-winning short film BAWKE (2005), which screened at Sundance and over 100 other festivals around the world. It was named the best Norwegian short film of the decade by Rushprint magazine in 2010. Zaman also directed the feature films BEFORE SNOWFALL (2013) and LETTER TO THE KING (2014), which both won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film, making him the only director in history to win the award two years in a row. BEFORE SNOWFALL also won the award for Best Cinematography at Tribeca and was the most award-winning Norwegian film of 2013. LETTER TO THE KING was one of three films shortlisted for a nomination to the Oscar Awards by the Norwegian Oscar Committee in 2014.