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Laman Ismayilova

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Cinema, literature and modern technology came together on one stage as Baku hosted the closing ceremony of the 6th Booktrailer International Film Festival, which brought together creators from nearly 20 countries.

The award ceremony for the winners of the 6th Booktrailer International Film Festival, held under the slogan "Kitabı tanıdın, kitabla tanının!" (Introduce the Book, Make Yourself Known Through the Book!), took place at the Nizami Cinema Center.

This year, the competition received around 50 films from nearly 20 countries. The geographical diversity of the participants and the variety of their submissions demonstrated growing international interest in book trailers, a format that brings together literature, cinema and digital creativity, helping introduce books to new audiences.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ruslan Sabirli, founder and project director, highlighted the festival’s importance and emphasized that the international interest it had attracted confirmed the potential for further development of this field.

The festival aims to promote books and reading, encourage creative approaches to literary promotion, identify talented young people in the film industry, and develop book trailers as an independent field of art and business.

The jury of the 6th festival comprised director Emin Mirabdullayev (Azerbaijan), visual designer Hatice Öksüz (Turkiye), and writer Gunel Asgarova (Azerbaijan).

The international competition featured several categories, ranging from feature-length and short films about books to mobile, animated, poetic and AI-generated book trailers.

Winners of the International Competition

• Best Feature-Length Book Film: Her Cold Heart (Russia) — Vladimir Kott.
• Best Short Book Film: Christmass Tree (Russia) — Olga Ushakova.
• Best Book Teaser: Aletheia: A Ben-Hur Saga (England) — Luigi Coli.
• Best Book Trailer: The Man With The Longest Shadow (Spain) — Martin Romanella.
• Best Mobile Book Trailer: And Don’t Look At The Camera (Italy) — Valentina Confuorto.
• Best AI-Generated Book Trailer: Iren’s Life (Spain) — Pablio Cesar.
• Best Poetic Book Trailer: The Girl In The Elevator (China) — Gan Jiao.
• Best Thriller Book Trailer: Red Hotel (USA) — Nel Tier.
• Best Fantasy Book Trailer: Assistant To The Villain (Romania) — Amos-Antonius Bradatanu.
• Best Animated Book Trailer: Awakening Of Colors (Mexico) — Alex Carrillo.
• Best Student Book Trailer: The Wolf And The Fox — Alina Zelyankova.

Works created using artificial intelligence and mobile technologies held a special place in the programme. These categories highlighted how modern tools are opening up new possibilities for visual storytelling and creative reinterpretations of literary works.

Winners of the National Competition

The national competition also recognized the creators of the best works in five categories:

• Best Short Book Film: A Story Without a Title — Nazim Musabayli.
• Best Book Trailer: The Wedding Dress — Shahriyar Jamalbayli.
• Best Mobile Book Trailer: The Stranger — Sahil Yadigarli.
• Best AI-Generated Book Trailer: Mirror: The Other Side of Humanity — Ruslan Ibrahimli.
• Best Animated Book Trailer: Three Clues — Aslan Maharramli.

During the ceremony, jury members shared their impressions of the festival, delivered speeches and announced the names of the award recipients. The winners took to the stage to receive diplomas and awards in recognition of their creative achievements.

The Booktrailer International Film Festival is organized by SBRLY with the support of Azerbaijan Culture Ministry and the Azerbaijan Film Agency (ARKA).

The festival continues to develop a format in which a book serves as the starting point for creating an independent visual work. Through book trailers, literary stories find new forms of expression, while young creators gain the opportunity to showcase their talents on an international platform.

Detailed information about participation requirements, film submission guidelines, the prize fund and other aspects of the festival is available on the official website: www.booktrailerfest.com.

Festival Contacts

• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooktrailerFest
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BooktrailerFest

Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az and Milli.Az.