Biograpgy

AMIRUL ARHAM
Director · Writer · Producer
Paris, France

Amirul Arham is a Franco-Bangladeshi filmmaker, screenwriter, poet and documentary filmmaker based in Paris. For several decades, he has developed an engaged, humanist body of documentary work deeply rooted in social, cultural and environmental issues.

Trained in cinéma vérité under Jean Rouch in Paris, he has directed numerous documentaries broadcast internationally, notably on France 2, France 3, France 5 and Public Sénat, as well as on several European television channels.

His films explore issues including social justice, poverty, the environment, memory, and political and social change. His work includes The Devil's Water, The Lost Souls of Bangladesh, A Banker for the Poor, Social Business, The 1971 War in the Eyes of Pakistanis and Zafrullah: A People's Doctor.

His films have been selected for and received awards at numerous international festivals in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

2011

Final Cut Pro (FCP) Training, Video Design Formation, Paris

2005

Documentary Film Editing Training, INA, Paris

2001

Analogue and Digital Camera Training, INA, Paris

1988/89

DEA in Sociolinguistics, with honours, Université Paris V – René Descartes, Sorbonne

Thesis: The Forgetting of the Mother Tongue.

This research was submitted for a national consultation organized by the French Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports in 1989.

1985

Diploma in Film Directing, Cinéma Vérité, Atelier Varan, under the direction of Jean Rouch

1982

Film Analysis and Appreciation, Film Archive and Institute, Ministry of Information, Bangladesh

1980

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Bengali Language and Literature, University of Dhaka.

1979

B.A. Honours in Bengali Literature, Dhaka College

Minor subjects: Economics and Political Science

TEACHING & MENTORING

2025

How to Write a Documentary Film? Bangladesh Film Institute (BFI)

2024

How to Write a Documentary Film Using the Direct Cinema Approach, Alliance Française de Chittagong

2018

Film Production, École des Arts de la Sorbonne, Cinema Bachelor's Programme

2016

Cinéma vérité, Université Paris 8 – Saint-Denis / La Réunion

2015

Editing and Post-Production, ESEC, Paris

2014

Editing and Post-Production, ISA – Institut Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel, Paris

2013

Editing and Post-Production, Audiovisual BTS Programme, UFA Amiens – Lycée Robert de Luzarches

2012

Digital Camera and Documentary Writing, INA

2010

Documentary Film Writing, INA

2009

Digital Camera and Documentary Writing, Audiovisual Training Programme, La Réunion

2003

Digital Camera and Documentary Writing, Audiovisual Workshop, NILIP, Noisiel

WRITING / SCREENPLAYS

Eviction - feature fiction film

Professor's Dream

Le Secret de ma mère — feature fiction film

Integration - feature fiction film

MAJOR AWARDS

SCAM Star - Paris

SCAM Star — Paris

The Devil's Water also received several international awards, including Best Documentary at the Terra Festival, Guadeloupe, as well as awards and special mentions at several international festivals.