NEWS

The documentary "The Last One" has won Bronze Castle Award at the 25th OFF CINEMA International Documentary Film Festival.

The festival was held in Poland and featured 13 documentaries along with the film "The Last One".

"The Last One" is about the last inhabitant of the Kurdili island, Vitaly Pronin. In 1981, as a result of rising water levels in the Caspian Sea, Kurdili, once a bustling island, became uninhabitable. Most of the population moved from the island. No one lived there anymore except for 68-years-old Vitaly.

The film was produced by the Baku Media Center and "Salnamefilm" studio with the support of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry.

Executive producer of the film is Arzu Aliyeva,producers - Orman Aliyev and Nazim Huseynov, film director-Fariz Ahmadov,  scriptwriters - Esmira Ayyub and Fariz Ahmadov, cinematographer - Mateusz Czuchnowski. 

After its premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival 202, the documentary  has been presented at prestigious festivals in various countries.

The film has won Golden Maple Award for Best Documentary at the 15th Jahorina Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Note that the director of the film, Fariz Ahmadov, is currently the director of the Azerbaijanfilm  Studio. His films have won multiple awards at international festivals.

Young talents will celebrate Azerbaijan's victory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War on November 3.

Laureates of republican and international competitions, including vocalists Jalal Karimov and Subkhan Rustamov, talented musicians Sevda Jabrayilova, Suleyman Makhmudov, Sariya Nasibova, Sura Rufat, Zarrin Aliyeva, Fateh Iskandar, Jalala Ismayilzade, Nargiz Kengerli, Zuleikha Abdullayeva, Vusala Babayeva, thechoir of the Republican Arts Gymnasium and many others will perform at the concert organized as part of the "Youth support" project.

Along with the works of famous composers, a music piece composed by the  project participant Vafa Bagirzadeh will be performed at the evening.

Initiated by the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall, "Youth Support" project aims at discovering and supporting young talents in Azerbaijan.

The project is headed by the director of the State Philharmonic Hall, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Murad Adigozalzade, project coordinator is Ayla Karimova-Zekeriyye. 

"Youth Support" project addresses the wide audience with different tastes. This year the "Youth Support" project celebrates its 5th anniversary. 

A series concerts organized within the project have been always met with great public interest.

As part of celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence, the Embassy of India in Baku organized an event to felicitate the participants of the Online Global Poster and Painting Competition 2021.

The global competition was organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations under the motto “My Idea of India”.

The majority of the 70 paintings and posters by Azerbaijani artists and students, which were already submitted online for the competition were on display at the event which was attended by school students, members of Painters Association of Azerbaijan and representatives of the media.

Ambassador of India Bawitlung Vanlalvawna highlighted the events which are being organized to celebrate the 75 years of Independence of India - Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. He said that such events will bring the people of the two countries closer together.

Speaking at the event, famous artist Gunay Zebic also spoke on the occasion.

The event also featured a performance of raga music by Azerbaijani Artist Ilkhas Mammadov.

The last date of entry is 31 October.

Azerbaijani tar musician Humay Gadimova has filmed a music video in liberated Gubadli region. 

The music video features a music piece "Separation" composed by  People's Artist Emin Sabitoglu, Trend Life reported. 

The musical composition personifies the end of separation and return of Gubadli to Azerbaijan.

October 25, 2020, Gubadli was liberated from almost 30 years of Armenian occupation. The region of Azerbaijan was occupied by the Armenian Armed Forces on August 31, 1993.

During the occupation, the Armenians destroyed  religious, historical, cultural monuments and cemeteries in Gubadli. The invaders also committed terror against the region`s rich nature.  Forests were cut down and burned there, rare species of trees and plants were destroyed.

A series of events entitled "Jazzery Voices" will be held in Baku from October 26 to November 6 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Baku Music Academy (BMA).

Initiated by the Culture Ministry, the project will include concerts of professional and young jazz musicians, an international scientific-creative conference on "Issues related to jazz art in Azerbaijan", a master class on jazz vocal performance and a research seminar. Bakustik Jazz, Bakuba Band, Gaya, Baku Brass Big Band, BMA's Lumineux choir and other music bands will perform at the concerts.

The events will take place at the International Mugam Center, Chamber and Organ Music Hall and the Garayev Conference Hall.

The Jazzery Voices project will end on November 6 at the International Mugam Center with a gala concert titled "Jazz says Victory". 

Azerbaijani actor Nariman Abdul-Aliyev has created a unique masterpiece made of marble.

A map of Karabakh made of three thousand pieces was showcased at the first Azerbaijan International Exhibition "Restoration, Reconstruction and Development of Karabakh-Rebuild Karabakh".

Work on each piece lasted for a month. The map's parts were specially cut out of marble. All geometric shapes and various patterns were glued with a special substance. Each piece weighs from 200 to 450 kg. 

In the process of creation, the actor used various types of marbles from Greece, Italy, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, Zimbabwe, etc.

Notably, Nariman Abdul-Aliyev is also a production engineer, who trained in Turkey as a  hydro-abrasive metal arc cutting specialist. 

His spouse, art critic Zemfira Abdul-Aliyeva, architect Ali Valiyev and marble specialist Veli Valiyev also contributed to the artistic part of the exhibition.

The first Azerbaijan International Exhibition "Restoration, Reconstruction and Development of Karabakh - Rebuild Karabakh" is being held in Baku on October 20-22.

The main goal of the exhibition is to demonstrate on one platform the unique experience, innovative solutions and investment proposals of companies from different countries, which can contribute to the rapid restoration of the Karabakh region.

The exhibition creates a communication platform for dialogue between representatives of companies and government agencies.

About 280 local and foreign companies from 20 countries are participating in the exhibition.

Famous fashion designer Gulnara Khalilova has successfully presented her collection at the first Azerbaijan International Exhibition "Restoration, Reconstruction and Development of Karabakh - Rebuild Karabakh".

The Culture Minister Anar Karimov viewed the designer's pavilion "Traditional Karabakh Dresses" which opened as part of the exhibition, Trend Life reported.

Speaking with fashion designer Anar Karimov stressed the importance of further promotion of Azerbaijan's traditional dresses, which reflect cultural and historical traditions.

Gulnara Khalilova spoke about her stunning fashion collection "Karabakh", which had previously been successfully presented in the  USA, Great Britain, Russia and China, and shared her further plans for the preservation and development of traditional costumes.

The first Azerbaijan International Exhibition "Restoration, Reconstruction and Development of Karabakh - Rebuild Karabakh" is being held in Baku on October 20-22.

The main goal of the exhibition is to demonstrate on one platform the unique experience, innovative solutions and investment proposals of companies from different countries, which can contribute to the rapid restoration of the Karabakh region.

The exhibition creates a communication platform for dialogue between representatives of companies and government agencies.

About 280 local and foreign companies from 20 countries are participating in the exhibition.

Public and cultural figures have been awarded for their contribution to various spheres, in particular culture, society,  science  and mass media.

Initiated by Caspian Events, the prize Golden Sun has been awarded for four years in Turkey.

The awarding ceremony was held in Azerbaijan for the first time.  International project director is Olucay Kutluca.

The event took place at Hilton Baku Hotel, bringing together People's Artists Fidan Hajiyeva and Maleyka Asadova, Honored Artists Salim Abbasov and Nakhida Orujova, actors and singers -Tarana Makhmudova, Kamran Aghabalayev, Yashar Yusub, Khuraman Shushali,  Vasif Maharramli, Leyla Ramazanli, Elmaddin Jafarov, Shabnam Gahramanova, Rasul Afendiyev, Rufat Akhundov and others.

Public and cultural figures paid tribute to the martyrs of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. Azerbaijani anthem sounded at the opening ceremony.

One of the first prizes was awarded to the hero and ghazi of the Second Karabakh War, Zakir Imanov.

Golden Sun prize was also awarded to Trend News Agency's correspondent Vugar Imanov for his  contribution to information war in the course of the 44-day Patriotic War.

Notably, the official representatives of Golden Sun prize in Azerbaijan includes  the director of Caspian Events, actor Tural Alakbarov, executive director - Aydin Huseynov, chief producers - Ilmirza Agabekhov and Javid Nureddinli. Honored Artist Elnur Kerimov was the host for the evening.

Azerbaijani singer Samira Efendi has been awarded at Gold Media Awards initiated by Black & Blue Media.

Samira Efendi won prize in the Star of the Year nomination, Trend Life reported.

The awards ceremony was held at the Sheraton Istanbul City Center in Istanbul with the participation of laureates from Turkey and Europe, representatives of the world of art, fashion, sports, public life and the media.

The hosts of the evening were Turkish stars Tugba Ozay and Emre Buga.

Azerbaijan was also represented by host and organizer Ayaz Mammadov (Organizer of the Year), writer Movsum Amir Aslan (Writer-Discovery of the Year).

During the event, Samira Efendi performed her Eurovision song 2021 "Mata Hari". 

Samira Efendi represented Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2021 final with the song "Mata Hari" and took place the 20th place. She thrilled Eurovision fans with stunning performance that featured a giant orb in the background.

Speaking about the meaning of the song, Efendi noted that it is about female power.

"It is very important to talk about strong women in order to remind our beautiful ladies that despite the fact that we still live in a world full of prejudices, a woman can do anything and female power cannot be compared with anything. And if suddenly you do not have enough inspiration now, let the stories of strong women in history become the source of that very charge of energy with which you can cope with everything and achieve even bigger success. There is a queen in each of us and I want to remind you that it's time to release her," said Efendi.

Last year, the song contest was cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, fans of the music contest had a great chance to enjoy a spectacular show "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light", featuring 41 songs of this year's entries.

During the show, Samira Efendi thrilled Eurovision fans with the song "Cleopatra" about trusting your gut instinct, standing up for yourself and being a "Queen" - even when things get tough and especially if someone betrays or hurts you.

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum will host the opening of the exhibition Kamil Aliyev: Artist and Time on October 21. The event marks the 100th birth anniversary of  People's  Artist Kamil Aliyev, known as talented carpet artist, author of numerous samples of Azerbaijani carpet. The exhibition will feature 18 carpets from the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum's collection, 3 carpets from the collection of the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art, and 3 carpets and 5 sketches from the artist’s family archive. Kamil Aliyev creatively transformed the classical carpet compositions and designed the ornaments not only for carpets but also for different types of textiles, including ceramic. However, it was the portrait carpets that brought him worldwide fame. Kamil Aliyev managed to grow this genre into a whole direction in carpet weaving, which is still in demand today. During his long and creative life, Kamil Aliyev designed a wide variety of portrait carpets using different carpet weaving methods to portray the images of artists and political leaders: world-famous poets Nizami Ganjavi, Imadaddin Nasimi, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, Shota Rustaveli, Rabindranath Tagore, politicians Heydar Aliyev, Mahammad Amin Rasulzade, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Indira Gandhi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ruhollah Khomeini. The artist held solo exhibitions not only in Azerbaijan but also in Paris, London, Tokyo, Delhi, Ankara, Istanbul, Tehran, Moscow, and Kyiv. His carpets are preserved in world-famous museums and private collections. The exhibition, organized by the  Culture Ministry and the Carpet Museum, runs until November 21.