Swedish filmmaker presents film about Shusha

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The Nizami Cinema Center has demonstrated a documentary Legend of Kharibulbul produced by Swedish filmmaker Mikael Silkeberg, Azernews reports.

The film was shot on the initiative of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Sweden, with the support of the Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO and the Culture Ministry.

Speaking at the presentation, the film director, Rahim Sadigbayli, expressed his gratitude to the Azerbaijani army and Commander-in-Chief, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for the victory in the 44-day Patriotic War.

Rahim Sadigbayli also spoke about the filming process which involved the Swedish filmmaker, who visited Shusha, Fuzuli, and Aghdam last year and took photos.

Last February, Stockholm hosted an exhibition organized at the initiative of the Azerbaijani ambassador to Sweden, Norway, and Finland Zaur Ahmadov.

"Furthermore, we made the film that was shown on the Swedish public channel. I express my gratitude to the organizations that supported the film and to the Azerbaijan State Committee for Work with Diaspora, which organized our visit to Baku today," he said.

Rufat Hasanov, head of the Culture Ministry's Audiovisual and Interactive Media Department, spoke about films dedicated to the Patriotic War and Shusha.

He said that the ministry has implemented about 30 projects on the topic of the Patriotic War.

"People's Artist Vagif Mustafayev's film has recently received Best Director's Award at the Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival in Bursa. The ministry also produces films together with Baku Media Center and the Azerbaijani Public TV, which aroused great public interest. We can see the importance of the documentary that we will watch today from the perspective of The Great Return," Hasanov said.

"The importance of the film is also that it is presented not by an Azerbaijani director, but by a foreign cinematographer. We will see our geniuses in the film through the eyes of a foreign citizen. So, in order to make a documentary film dedicated to our cultural capital - Shusha city, Swedish photographer and documentary film expert Mikael Silkeberg, a member of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Sweden, documentary film expert Rahim Sadigbayli filmed a series about Shusha's history, music, and literary environment," he added.

In his speech, Rufat Hasanov noted that many interviews were conducted with well-known cultural and artistic figures during the filming process.

Second Secretary of Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO Emil Ahmadov congratulated the film team noting that the presentation of the documentary coincides with the date of the liberation of Shusha city (Nov.8).

He expressed his gratitude to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva for their contribution to promoting Azerbaijani culture, art, and history.

"Declaring the city of Shusha as Azerbaijan's cultural capital serves to promote the centuries-old rich culture, architecture, and urban planning art of our people in the world. There is no doubt that declaring the Year of Shusha in Azerbaijan is another historic decision that serves the same goals," he said.

Emil Ahmadov also praised Azerbaijan's exceptional role in promoting UNESCO's principles and values over the past 30 years.

He emphasized that Azerbaijan has become an important and reliable partner in ensuring world peace and security on all international platforms, as well as in the framework of UNESCO.

In his remarks, Emil Ahmadov touched upon a number of projects implemented in Azerbaijan and abroad within the Year of Shusha.

He drew attention to the book "Shusha - the historical and strategically important cultural capital of Azerbaijan" by Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Elchin Ahmadov. The book has been translated into English, French, Arabic, Bulgarian, Greek, Latvian, and Tajik languages

During his speech, Mikael Silkeberg expressed his satisfaction with being in Azerbaijan and called Shusha a center of culture connecting East and West, and Baku the Paris of the East.

He expressed his gratitude to those who supported the making of the film and those who attended the film screening.

After the speeches, the film was presented to the audience.

The film includes the opinions of outstanding scientists and cultural figures about Karabakh and Shusha, as well as video shots of historical figures.

The film also focuses on the opinion of Western scientists about Eastern culture, Azerbaijani literature, music, mugham, and nature.