Baku hosts second Tourism Film Festival
By Nigar Orujova
The second International Tourism Film Festival was inaugurated in Baku at the Nizami cinema center on June 25.
The festival, a non-profit cultural event, is aimed at promoting films on various aspects of tourism and selecting the most successful films that promote domestic and international tourism.
It will last till June 29.
Opening the festival, Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev said in comparison with the first International Festival of Tourism Films in Baku, the number of works presented to the festival has doubled this year.
This confirms that the country and its creative people are supporting the festival and show interest and desire to present their works. Azerbaijan pays significant attention to the development of tourism in the country.
After the minister speech, films presented in the category of "Country, region, city" were shown to the guests.
This year, the traditional festival received 405 films from 55 countries, 68 of which entered the competition section.
The competition section is subdivided in six categories "The country, region, city", "Culture, tradition", "Advertising films", "Tourism services", "Ecotourism and foreign tourism" and "TV production."
Seven Azerbaijani films will participate in the competition section this year.
The competition section is open to public from 2 p.m. at the Nizami cinema center and the Seaside Boulevard on June 26-28. People can watch the films there free of charge.
Movies will be evaluated by an international jury, consisting of local and foreign cinematographers and tourism experts, including Ayaz Salayev, Aynur Talibova, Vugar Shihammadov from Azerbaijan, Alexander Kammel from Austria, Spomenka Saraga from Croatia, Tofiq Shahverdiyev from Russia, and Can Ozbatur from Turkey.
Members of the international jury will choose three winners in each category.
The holders of the top three places in each category will receive awards and diplomas. The director of the best film will be presented with the Grand Prix and an award of €4,000.
Over 50 foreign guests are invited to the festival. Some of them are directors participating in the competition section while others are heads of tourism film festivals from around the world.
The project "Baku from sunrise to sunset" will be launched as part of the project "The world from sunrise to sunset" during the festival.
Organized by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the event includes discussions among filmmakers, experts in tourism, and the media.
The festival will include master classes of Polish filmmakers, both theoretical and practical classes. Meanwhile, young directors will shot a documentary about Baku.
The first Baku International Tourism Film Festival was held in November 2013, attracting about 80 films from 31 countries in the competition section.