Mumin Shakirov

Mumin Shakirov was born in Dushanbe. He worked several years at the Tajik Film Studio. In 1989 he graduated from the All-Union (now Russian) State Institute of Cinematography (RSIC), the Directing Department. In 1994 Mumin Shakirov became involved in journalism. From 1994 to 1997 he worked at the Literaturnaya gazeta ("Literary Gazette") and Novaya gazeta ("New Gazette") covering the civil wars in Tajikistan, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Abkhazia and the former Yugoslavia. In 1994 he started his collaboration with Radio Liberty and from 1998 to 2012 he worked as their special correspondent. He wrote and directed the mini-series "Eastern Express" and the "Special Reportage" series: «Hot Spots of the Former Empire", "Is it Easy to be a Russian in the Neighbouring Countries and the Baltics" and the "Formula of Cinema". He authored several books "Drug Trafficking in Russia" (1998) and "A Million for a Woman" (2006). He participated in the film festivals "Zolotoi dyuk" (Golden Duke), "Stalker" (Stalker), "Kinotavr" (Kinotaur), "Zakon & obshestvo" (Law & Society) , "Poslanie cheloveku" (Message to Man) (2005) and the Moscow International Film Festival. In 2013 he made a controversial documentary "Holocaust - is it a wallpaper paste?" The film premiered on 22 June 2013 at the October cinema within the framework of the Moscow International Film Festival 2013 (main competition, the documentary section). This film was shown at various film forums, such as the Boston Jewish Film Festival, Repertuar festiwalu Sputnik (Satellite over Poland),(one of the viewings was arranged at the Ida Kaminsky Jewish Cinema for the "children of Holocaust" - the descendants of those who perished in concentration camps during World War II, Stalker, Festival of Tolerance, Zagreb Jewish Film Festival, International Film Festival "Jewish Motifs" in Warsaw, International Film Festival "INPUT 2014" in Helsinki. In January 2014 the film was released in Belarus. On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the public became interested again in the documentary "Holocaust - is it a wallpaper paste?" In October 2014 the film was included in the 7th Festival of Russian Documentaries in New York as part of the special programme dedicated to Holocaust. The film was also shown at the International Film Festival "Flahertiana" in the city of Perm, where the film received the award for the best script. Throughout 2014, the film was shown in many Russian cities as part of the visiting Stalker Film Festival - a festival dedicated to human rights: Krasnoyarsk, Kaliningrad, Syktyvkar, Kursk, Voronezh, Penza, Mozhaisk, Izhevsk, Vologda, and Petrozavodsk. On 27 January 2015 - on the Holocaust Memorial Day, the film was shown in the city of Ivanovo. After the viewing of the documentary, the audience had a discussion with Mumin Shakirov. Mumin Shakirov lives and works in Moscow.