New film festival to be held in country
By Laman Ismayilova
A new film festival will now be held in Azerbaijan.
Golden Step National Film Festival has been created by the Azerbaijan Union of Cinematographers, Trend Life reported.
The main goal of the festival is to contribute to the development of national cinema, to increase the professional level and to stimulate the activity of cinematographers.
Golden Step Film Festival will be held every two years in November. Feature films and documentaries will take part in the competition program, and winners in various categories will be determined.
Detailed information regarding participation terms can be found on www.Arki.az.
It is noteworthy that the main activity of the Azerbaijan Union of Cinematographers is presenting national films in the international arena, their shooting, organization of international symposia and conferences, and formation of cinema's infrastructure.
Azerbaijan has a rich cinema history and has significantly contributed to the international film industry.
Today, the Azerbaijani cinema has come to be an internationally recognized modern art enjoying a huge popularity and recognition at international film festivals, which frequently award the national films. Over the past years, more than 300 films and 1,200 documentaries, as well as hundreds of cartoons were filmed.
Shortly after the Lumiere brothers from France invented cinematograph, an apparatus for making motion pictures, in 1895, Russian photographer and cameraman Alexandre Michon began shooting motion pictures that depicted everyday life in Baku.
The first short, silent film of Azerbaijani cinematography "You are caught" was shown in Baku on August 2, 1898. The audience witnessed a historical event - the birth of Azerbaijani cinematography.
To honor this historical day, the national leader Heydar Aliyev signed an order on December 18, 2000, to declare August 2 as professional holiday of cinema workers – Day of Azerbaijani Cinema.
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova
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