BOWMAN

An aphasic single father must overcome his fractured speech to reconnect with his son.

  • Burak K. Diken
    Director
  • Burak K. Diken
    Writer
  • Maciej Ślesicki
    Producer
    Oscar nominated: 'Our Curse' & "The Dress'
  • Warsaw Film School
    Producer
  • Chris Falconnet
    Key Cast
  • Leon Zawacki
    Key Cast
  • Ana Jgarkava
    Cinematographer
  • Jakub Nagaduś
    Editing
  • Maciej Mika
    Sound
  • Efe Düşhan
    Music Composer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    BOWMAN
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 55 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 28, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    Poland, Türkiye
  • Country of Filming:
    Poland
  • Language:
    Polish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2,39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Warsaw Film School
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Burak K. Diken

Burak (28) is a director from Istanbul, Türkiye. After studying American Culture and Literature at Istanbul University and working as an editor for international magazines, he is now completing the Film Directing bachelor’s program at the Warsaw Film School. Based in Istanbul and Warsaw, Burak currently focuses on short-form projects.

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Director Statement

In 2012, my father had a seizure that affected his speech, impacting his career and sense of identity. Watching the confident, articulate father mentally collapse was devastating as a teenager. Over time, he unexpectedly transformed into a lighter, more playful version of himself through the condition, ultimately transforming our relationship. That emotional journey deeply sheds its light to another father & son: BOWMAN.

BOWMAN is a story about a relationship that redefines itself in silence. The film tackles a doomed disease, aphasia, that haunts a middle-aged lawyer & single father and turns him into a ghost by collapsing his verbal skills. His son is his companion in this journey as an emotional, smart, hyperactive kid. However, he doesn’t have the patience for his father’s rehabilitation.

After aphasia, as a hopeless man now, can he find new ways to communicate and keep his stand as a functioning father? When language disappears, how do we remain fathers, sons, or even ourselves? BOWMAN explores the slow rebirth of communication through new ways of reaching out to each other and a shared myth. It’s about resilience behind a cursed disease, the subtle courage it takes to face the public eye as ‘the other’, and reconnection with a son as an incomplete father, but still whole.