Azerbaijan's films to participate at Dhaka Film Festival
By Nazrin Gadimova
Two Azerbaijani films will participate at the Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh, held on January 10-18, 2014.
The films include "Steppe Man" ("Çölçü") directed by Shamil Aliyev, and "Melting Island" ("Əriyən Ada") directed by Fariz Ahmadov.
The feature film "Steppe Man" has an exciting plot. It is about a young steppe man who lives far from civilization, closely communicating with nature. He is taught by his father, Ulu, all the tricks of the prairie life. Shortly after his father's death, a new chapter begins in his life, and he meets a girl who comes from a village. Their meeting is a step into an unknown life.
The creative work for the movie was done by script writer Vidadi Hasanov, director of photography Rafig Guliyev, production designers Rafig Nasirov and Ibrahim Khalil Aminov, composer Rauf Aliyev, and producers Mushvig Hatamov and Azer Guliyev.
The film stars Bahruz Vagifoglu, Vidadi Hasanov, Javidan Mammadov, Salome Demuria, Vusal Mehraliyev, and others.
Steppe Man was presented at the XXI Open Film Festival of CIS countries, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Kinoshock 2012 (Anapa, Russia), and the VIII Eurasia International Film Festival (Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2012), and was awarded a diploma at the V International Film Festival Didor (Dushanbe, 2012).
The film was also among the bidding entries at the XVI International Festival in Tallinn, Dark Nights (2012), and was presented at the 35th Cairo International Film Festival (2012), the 13th Tbilisi International Film Festival (2012), 24th Ankara International Film Festival (2013), and the International Film Forum "Golden Knight 2013" in Khabarovsk, Russia.
Steppe Man has also been included in the long list of contenders for the Oscar award for Best Foreign Language Film.
"Melting Island" was shot at the order of the Azerbaijani Culture Ministry.
Creative work for the movie was done by script writer Esmira Eyyub and director of photography Rufat Kerimov.
The plot of film narrates the story of youth. The time is stopped there. The youth use wood instead of gas and candle instead of electricity. People living there are aware of modern, comfortable life and can change their way of life anytime they want, but they love their land. Their youth and memories are associated with that land, so they have decided to spend their lives in the island.