Gabo, creation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez presented in Baku

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Colombian embassy in Baku has held presentation of the film “Gabo, The Magic of Reality,” a documentary dedicated to the life and creativity of the famous Colombian writer, Gabriel García Márquez.

The event took place at the YARAT Contemporary Art Center in Baku on December 1.

Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of Colombia in Baku Assad Jose Gater Pena, addressed the event, expressing gratitude to the YARAT Center for organizing the documentary’s presentation.

So far, the film has been presented in the U.S., Spain, Britain, Mexico, France, Chile, UAE and Australia , and won several prizes.

Directed by Justin Webster and produced by Hate Horne, the film is a co-production of Colombia, the USA and Spain.

Gabo, The Magic of Reality is a story about the incredible power of human imagination, which follows the interwoven threads of Gabriel García’s life and work - "Gabo" to all of Latin America - with the narrative tension of an investigation.

How did a boy from a backward town on the Caribbean coast become a writer who won the hearts of millions, from the poorest to the most powerful? How did he change our perception of reality with his work?

The answer lies in the incredible story of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the 1982 Nobel Prize winner for Literature and author of the globally-celebrated and critically-acclaimed masterpiece “One Hundred Years of Solitude.”

The film also includes footage of the Nobel laureate himself, collected from various archives, to illustrate and authenticate the humor, passion and wit that so typified Garcia Marquez — the master of magic realism.

The Colombian journalist and law-school dropout grew up in the poverty and violence of northern Colombia. He was propelled by a love of life and a sensual, magical sensibility, to become a pioneer of life-affirming literature.

YARAT is a non-profit art organisation based in Baku, Azerbaijan. Founded by Aida Mahmudova and a group of artists in 2011, YARAT is dedicated to nurturing an understanding of contemporary art in Azerbaijan and to creating a platform for Azerbaijani art, both nationally and internationally.

YARAT, which means ‘create’ in Azerbaijani has commissioned over 145 projects to date, the majority of which have been in Baku, Azerbaijan. Education is at the heart of YARAT’s work: they hold artist residencies, workshops, lectures and screenings. In 2014 they launched a summer school and a new building housing artists’ studios and spaces to support their residency programme. In 2015 they launched YARAT Contemporary Art Centre in Baku – their first permanent exhibition space. YARAT’s program ARTIM (meaning ‘progress’ in Azerbaijani) supports young practitioners in the arts providing opportunities to curate and feature their work in exhibitions.