Azernews.Az

Today marks the 89th anniversary of the birth of Rasim Ismayilov — an outstanding cinematographer, director, and screenwriter who dedicated his life to the development and flourishing of Azerbaijani cinema, Azernews reports.

Rasim Ismayilov was born on July 13, 1936, in Baku. His passion for cinema led him to the Azerbaijanfilm Studio in 1958, where he began his career as an assistant cameraman. Between 1958 and 1962, he studied at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow, under the mentorship of renowned cinematographer Boris Volchek. Even his early student projects revealed a promising talent.

Starting in 1962, Ismayilov worked at Azerbaijan Television, where his screenplays inspired short television films such as Azerbaijan Reports and Two More People. He also directed several documentaries, including The Ways of the Blue Screen and Rhythms of the City.

He was a pioneer in Azerbaijani animation, directing Talking Lights (1965) and The Reds, the Blacks, and Others (1969). The latter — an allegorical animated film based on his screenplay — earned him the “Best Director” diploma at the “Prometheus-69” festival in Kyiv.

Ismayilov made his artistic film debut as a cinematographer with the short novella Through the Mountain Forest in the film anthology Gravity. He then worked on the historical-revolutionary film The Invincible Battalion (1965), directed by the eminent filmmaker Huseyn Seyidzade — his first major contribution to feature cinema.

He went on to serve as cinematographer for some of the most iconic films in Azerbaijani cinema, many of which are now considered national classics: Sevil, I Want Seven Sons, The Last Pass, The Day Passed, Nasimi, Dede Gorgud, The Bay of Joy, Babek, and many others.

Over the course of his 68-year life, 46 years were devoted to national cinema. During this time, he worked on 20 feature films and 10 documentaries as a cinematographer, and directed or scripted four satirical Mozalan shorts and two animated films. His final directorial work was the 1990 film The Trap. He also taught at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts.

In recognition of his exceptional contributions, Rasim Ismayilov was named an “Honored Art Worker” of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1976 and received the State Prize in 1978.

Rasim Ismayilov passed away on March 3, 2004. His book Flying Plane Trees was published posthumously, preserving the legacy of a true cinematic master.