Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Days of Iranian cinema solemnly opened at the Nizami Cinema Center in Baku on February 23.

The festival is co-organized by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Culture Center of the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan.

The festival's opening ceremony was attended by prominent public figures, representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in the country, cultural workers and artists.

The national anthems of Azerbaijan and Iran sounded at the beginning of the event.

Addressing the event, Azerbaijan's Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev said that friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Iran are successfully developing from year to year.

The Minister stressed that Azerbaijani cultural and art figures participate in events held in Iran, and representatives of Iranian art represent their work in Azerbaijan. He also noted that last year the Days of Azerbaijani Culture were successfully held in Iran.

It was stressed that the films filmed jointly by Azerbaijani and Iranian filmmakers were awarded international film festivals.

Speaking about the relations between the two countries in the sphere of culture, Chairman of Iran's Culture and Islamic Communications Organization Abuzar Ibrahimi Turkman expressed hope for further strengthening of ties in this field.

It was stressed that the work of Iranian cinematographers is known worldwide. Iranian films are represented at prestigious international film festivals, and are awarded with various prizes, including the Oscar.

In his speech, the Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Javad Jahangirzade expressed confidence that the relations between the two countries will continue to develop in various fields.

Honored guests from Iran - actor of theater and cinema Babak Hamidian and actress Mina Sadati said that they are very happy to visit the capital city of Baku. The actors were delighted with the beauty of the city.

Then, guests enjoyed various music compositions.

The movie “Bodyguard” was screened on the first day of the festival.

The film is about a middle aged man who protects high-ranking political figures in Iran. The movie is directed by Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Hatamikia. “Bodyguard” was first shown in the 34th Fajr International Film Festival.

Notably, Days of Iranian cinema will last until February 27.

Kiumars Pourahmad’s drama “Where Are My Shoes?” will be shown on the last day of the festival.

It's a movie adaptation of the American author Lisa Genova’s debut novel “Still Alice”. The movie is about an elderly man and factory owner who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

Azerbaijani and Iranian peoples have common cultural and religious traditions. Two countries successfully cooperate in many areas, including agriculture, transport, tourism, industry and other spheres.

In 2017, Baku hosted the Iranian Culture Days within the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games.

The events aroused big interest among Baku’s residents. Representatives of the country performed at a series of concerts, featuring country's national songs and dance numbers.

The Days of Iranian and Azerbaijani cultures in 2010 and 2011 also kicked off with a great success.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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