2024-10-07 22:21:08
The grand opening of the XV Baku International Film Festival took place at the Nizami Cinema Center.
As Day.Az reports with reference to Trend, the Baku International Film Festival, established by the Center for Young Cinematographers, is being held this year from October 4 to 8 with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Film Agency. The project is part of the Baku Cinema Breeze (BCB) film festival. This major event is also attended by the DokuBaku International Documentary Film Festival, the Animafilm International Animation Festival, the Cinemo International Mobile Film Festival, and the Ata Turk World International Animation Film Festival.
At the opening, festival director Fehruz Shamiev noted that this year the BMFF celebrates its 15th anniversary and over the past years has introduced a large audience to many talented people and interesting films. Established in 2004, the festival operated under the name START in previous years. The Baku International Film Festival, the longest-running festival in our country, has over the years become a venue for screening films that have received awards and success at the Cannes, Venice and Berlin Film Festivals, as well as the Oscars.
“The festival, which annually brings together filmmakers, seeks to expand its audience in the coming years, not only stimulates local authors, but also creates opportunities for creative discussions,” said Fehruz Shamiev.
Acting Director of the Azerbaijan Film Agency, Honored Artist Orhan Fikretoglu noted that each festival contributes to the development of cinematography.
“We are very pleased that we are at the opening of one of these successful festival projects, which has come a long way in 15 years. I thank everyone who contributed to the traditional holding of this festival and wish the participants success,” said Orhan Fikretoglu.
Filmmakers Zaur Gasimly, Ruslan Sabirli, Nasimi Aliyev also spoke about the significance of the festival.
For their contribution to the development of national cinema, People’s Artists of Azerbaijan Hamida Omarova and Shukufa Yusupova were awarded the main prize of the Qızıl Nar (Golden Pomegranate) festival.
Over the course of five days, the Nizami Cinema Center will screen 79 films produced by 26 countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Korea, China, India, Colombia, Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Moldova, Croatia, Iran, etc. Admission to the shows is free.
For its 15th anniversary, the festival has prepared a number of innovations, one of which is a feature-length film competition. Thus, from now on both full-length feature films and short films compete in the international competition program of the festival.
The national competition program of the festival includes short feature films and documentaries, as well as social videos. An opportunity has been created for students to compete in a separate category. In total, 25 screen works are participating in the national competition program. Among the non-competition programs is the “Our Language” program, where films shot in the Azerbaijani language by our compatriots living in different countries of the world are shown.
The jury in various nominations includes famous directors, cinematographers and producers – Husein Mehtiyev, Zaur Gasymly, Irada Gezalova, Nasimi Aliyev, Teymur Hajiyev (Azerbaijan), Siddik Barmak (Afghanistan), Mahmut Fazil Joshkun, Can Ozbatur, Zyumra Erturk (Turkey). Ismail Monsef (Iran), Yevgeny Maisel (Russia), (Azerbaijan), Eldar Yoldashev (Uzbekistan) and others.
On the opening day, two films were shown. The festival is held with the support of the Nizami Cinema Center, the Azerbaijanfilm film studio, the State Film Fund, the British Council, and the Azerbaijan Producers Guild.
Information support – Trend.Az, Day.Az, Milli.Az, Azernews.Az