Documentary on Azerbaijani IDPs screened in Paris
By Nigar Orujova
Screening of a new documentary describing the ongoing tragedy of the internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan, The Waiting, was organized by the European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) in Paris on April 11.
According to TEAS, the film -- directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson -- was shown as part of the L'Europe autour de l'Europe (Europe around Europe) festival, which was held in Paris from March 13 to April 14. The festival featured screenings of around 65 feature films, documentaries, short films, animated films and experimental movies made by European filmmakers.
The screening was attended not only by men of art, but also by historians and public figures, including member of the French National Assembly, President of France-Azerbaijan Friendship Group, Thierry Mariani.
Eliza Pieter, head of TEAS France, in her opening speech congratulated the festival organizers on the initiative and stressed the importance of such events for the promotion of European culture in all of its diversity.
Pieter reminded the audience of the plight of the Azerbaijani IDPs who were forced to leave their lands and homes during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and remain unable to return home due to the lack of an international settlement.
Following the screening, Irena Bilic, the festival's director, said: "It is important to show such films where the film producers try to present the realities of a complex situation through artistic expression."
The Waiting told the audience about the conflict between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The film's website says, "Since the crisis began some 20 years ago, many thousands have been killed; but many more people, some half a million - 6.7 per cent of Azerbaijan's total population - have been forced to flee their homes and live like refugees in their own country. With the peace process stalled and the constant threat of resumption of all out war, 'The Waiting' is a vivid and compelling portrait of those driven by the hope that one day they will return home."
The Waiting tells the personal stories of some of those who have lost everything, and cleverly weaves them together to reveal the bigger picture of the cost of war through the generations. This film is a compelling and powerful portrayal of a people who for 20 years have been hoping and waiting to return home and it casts a spotlight on IDPs the world over.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against the neighboring country. Since the lengthy war that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis and ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Peace talks brokered by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United States, Russia and France have been largely fruitless so far.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions calling for its pullout from the occupied territories.