British Film Festival kicks off in Baku

By Laman Ismayilova

The 6th British Film Festival is underway in Baku. Co-organized by British Embassy and the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry and British Council, the festival brings the most exciting, thought-provoking and critically-acclaimed new films from the UK to Azerbaijan.

This year, the festival is being held virtually on a commissioned online platform by the CoolConnections Art Association.

The 2021 edition of the British Film Festival puts the extraordinary cinematic stories of remarkable women into spotlight, promoting the world where everyone can thrive as equal and complete members of all communities.

This year, the festival features 16 inspiring films: Beast (BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film - nominee), For Sama (BAFTA Award for Best Documentary - winner), Swimming with Men, Tucked, Make Up, Ray & Liz, Perfect 10, Pink Wall, as well as seven award-winning BAFTA Best British Short Film nominees. Our flagship film for this year’s festival, For Sama, is an award-winning journey into the female experience of war.

The British Council and the Ministry of Culture also organize a series of live arts talks on Facebook and YouTube for Azerbaijani cinema practitioners and professionals. The series feature some of the leading Azerbaijani women film directors, producers, and specialists.

As part of the long-standing work with the Public Union for Social Assistance to people with hearing and speech impairments, the festival's program also include the short film "Nargiz" in sign language (with English and Azerbaijani subtitles).

The film tells the story of a young girl named Nargiz and her experiences with her parents, unemployment and a difficult family situation. 

The British Film Festival will run until February 22. Every film will be available to watch at any time until February 22, but has to be completed within 48 hours once started.

All films are screened in English, with the subtitles in Azerbaijani. You can watch the British Film Festival trailer on YouTube.

The films can be watched by following the registration links on website at http://bit.ly/britishfilmfestival or at a dedicated URL: www.britishfilmfest.az

The British Council is the UK’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities.

The organization creates friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries.

The British Council works with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society.

Last year, the organization reached over 80 million people directly and 791 million people overall including online, broadcasts and publications.

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