NEWS

The International Museum Day has been celebrated in Icherisheher.

A short documentary film "Baku travel of Paul Nadar" by Rustam Huseynov was screened at Baku House of Photography on May 18 as part of the celebration. 

The films tell about Paul Nadar, French photographer's journey to Azerbaijan. 

The event was organized in partnership with the French Embassy in Azerbaijan and the French Institute in Azerbaijan (IFA).

Curator Konul Rafieva, photographer and historian Rustam Huseynov, composer Araz Ozara realized the documentary project which is produced and financed by the French Institute in Azerbaijan.

The concept of the documentary introduces the public to the Nadar family - the famous French brand in the world of photography.

The film tells about one of the most interesting parts of the Nadar heritage in the history of photography - the journey of Paul Nadar from Istanbul to Tashkent via Baku. Paul Nadar is the one of the first to use a portable camera.

Its Eastman Kodak camera is small, allowing you to capture images not on a bulky and fragile glass tile, but on a gelatine film. Using this advantage, Paul Nadar went down in the history of photography as an outstanding street photographer.

In 1890, the famous "The International Sleeping-Car and European Great Expresses Company" organized a trip to Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Paul Nadar was invited to take part in this expedition as a photographer. He was one of the first foreign passengers of the “Trans-Caspian Railway”.

As part of this trip, traveling through the Caucasus, Paul Nadar visited Baku, the images of which were reconstructed and reinterpreted for the public via his photographs.

In his Baku photographs, Paul Nadar paid special attention to Icherisheher (Old City) known as the city's historical core.

Azerbaijan has qualified for Eurovision Song Contest 2021 final. In the first semi-final, Samira Efendi thrilled everyone with the song "Mata Hari".

The presentation revolves around a giant orb in the background throughout the performance. 

At the end of the stage show, the orb is lifted into the air where it explodes in a rain of golden sparkles, leaving the image of Nazar, a symbol of fortune in Azerbaijan. 

Norway, Israel, Russia, Malta, Lithuania, Cyprus, Sweden, Belgium, and Ukraine  also qualified for the final.

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.

Azerbaijani designer Rufat Ismayil is behind the outfit that Efendi will be wearing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.

Efendi's costume is adorned with precious and semi-precious stones; it combines Azerbaijan's traditional elements but with a modern twist.

The opening ceremony of Eurovision 2021 took place at the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal and featured a Turquoise Carpet.

Some 34 competing artists walked the Turquoise Carpet in Rotterdam on the banks of the New Meuse River. 

Samira Efendi shared her thoughts about the event on her Instagram. 

"We had a great Turquoise Carpet event today! It was unforgettable. Thanks Eurovision for the amazing emotion that we had today," she wrote. 

Unfortunately, some participants could not take part in the opening ceremony amid positive COVID-19 test results.

The second-semifinal will bring together San Marino, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Austria, Poland, Moldova, Iceland, Serbia, Georgia, Albania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Latvia, Switzerland and Denmark on May 20.  The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 final night will take place on May 22.

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".

As the singer says, Cleopatra is a song 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.

"Cleopatra is a song about freedom, a celebration of all cultures and all sexualities. It's a song that is meant to inspire people to be who they truly are and to be proud of themselves just like Cleopatra. She was a queen who went through love, heartbreak, and betrayal, but she stood up for herself and is now remembered as an icon of strength and femininity," she said.

Azerbaijani filmmakers will join the Commonwealth International Film School of Young Cinematographers.

The fifth season of the film school will be held from May 26 to June 2 in Batumi, Georgia. 

More than 30 films from 14 countries will take part in the short film competition as part of the event.

Azerbaijan will be represented at the festival by Teymur Gambarov's short film "Gukhuroba" about a taxi driver Rasim who must deliver a wedding dress to a remote village across the country. 

Along the way, Rasim picks up a young woman; they have almost nothing to talk about, but still there is something they can say to each other. Thus two different fates intersect on one road.

The cast includes Elkhan Samadov, Roza Ibadova, Ilgar Dadash, Jahangir Malik, Rada Nasibova. 

Teymur Hajiyev's "Towards Evening" is another national film to be screened at the festival. 

The film tells about a couple for whom physical proximity doesn’t mean spiritual closeness at all. They make their way to a family event outside the city; a disagreement over a mundane issue forces them to stop, yielding an unexpected yet predictable discovery.

The cast includes Leyla Madatkhanova, Teymur Hajiyev, Gultakin Aghayeva, Ogtay Mirzoyev.

The 4th International Festival of Animated Films ANİMAFİLM will be held in Baku on October 20-24, 2021.

The festival will screen local and foreign animation for kids and adults.

Founded in 2018, ANIMAFILM  is the first and only international animation festival in Azerbaijan.

The festival focuses on bringing together local and foreign audiences as well as professionals on a single platform. It also contributes to the training of young talents.

ANIMAFILM actively promotes and develops the art of animation in Azerbaijan.

The third ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival took place in Baku on October 14-18.

The festival became the only offline cultural event in Azerbaijan during the war. The theme of the third festival was "Children of Azerbaijan". A children's jury of 31 children was formed as part of the festival.

The third ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival featured three theater workshops (Ritual Mobil Theater Laboratory), a two-day master class on stop motion animation and online screenings of animated films were organized.

A new building will be constructed for the Tbilisi State Professional Azerbaijan Drama Theater named after Heydar Aliyev.

Speaking with journalists, Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zurab Pataradze noted that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation is building a new house of culture for the local Georgian community in the Gakh region.

"Azerbaijani citizens of Georgian origin living in Gakh needed a house of culture. The construction work is about to complete. The opening of the House of Culture will take place in near future," he added.

Meanwhile, the mutual cultural days will be held in Azerbaijan and Georgia.

"The experience of holding mutual cultural days between our countries has existed for a long time. Unfortunately, we had to postpone some cultural events amid coronavirus pandemic," he said.

Tbilisi State Azerbaijan Drama Theater is a major historical and cultural institution. Prominent figures like Ibrahim Isfahanli, Alakbar Seyfi, Mohsun Sanani, Ulvi Rajab worked in this theater.

The theater was closed in 1947 and resumed its activity in 2003 as Tbilisi Municipal Theater. In 2004 the theater was given the name of Azerbaijan nation’s great leader Heydar Aliyev.

Famous surrealist artist Mehriban Efendi will take part in the Surrealizm Now exhibition in Portugal.

More than 100 artists from 52 countries will take part in the exhibition scheduled for May 15-July 11.

The national artist will display her paintings "Impression" and "Myriad" as part of the exhibition. 

Mehriban Efendi has successfully displayed her art works in Portugal, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany, France, Italy and Macedonia and other countries.

In 2014, the artist was handed Sandro Botticelli Award “For Art and Talent". Her paintings "Mystery" and "Impression of The Night" were included in the book "Polychromia 2016" highlighting the best contemporary artists. 

Famous surrealist artist Mehriban Efendi has also amazed art lovers with her new painting "Heavenly chosen".

The art work expresses her personal view on the world after coronavirus pandemic.

Mehriban Efendi believes that surrealism is an art movement that puts the attention of a confused person in a mysterious and unknowable world. For surrealism, people and the world, space and time lose their boundaries. Surrealism affirms the relativity of the world and its values. But it is only man and his love for the world around him that form the higher universe of the Earth...

In 2016, Mehriban Efendi received the title of Azerbaijan's Honored Artist.  She also worked as a costume designer with the German filmmaker Veit Helmer in his comedy "Absurdistan" (2008), shot in Azerbaijan. 

Another casting took place in Baku within Miss & Mister Azerbaijan-2021 beauty pageant.

The jury consisted of the coordinator and choreographer of the competition Ayla Mais, executive director Amil Abbasov, PR manager Sakhavat Gabiloglu, Miss Azerbaijan 2020 Banu Shujai, Mister Azerbaijan 2020 Elchin Dadashev, fashion designer Reshan Bakhtiyarli.

Miss & Mister Azerbaijan  has been held in Azerbaijan since 1996. The contest was founded by publicist Anela Ordukhanova.

"Beauty has been one of the most important concepts in philosophy since antiquity. The history of beauty contests has its roots in antiquity. In Troy, a beauty contest was considered as entertainment. The jury included not only sculptors, actors and poets, but also philosophers, orators and even warriors. Each nation has its own certain standard of beauty. Moreover, every country has such concept as "model appearance", said Ayla Mais.

"At the same time, the beauty standards can vary from the point of view of a doctor, artist, writer or athlete. Our competition is held in order to identify talented youth and create conditions for the support and development of their professional, artistic and aesthetic level, " she added. 

The results of all castings and the list of semi-finalists will be announced at the end of May.

Khatai Arts Center has completed the acceptance of the works for the 4th Republican Kids Art Festival "My Azerbaijan".

The art contest aims at promoting young talents and enhancing patriotic spirit among youth.

Co-organized by the State Art Gallery and the Khatai Arts Center, the project is timed to the Year of Nizami Ganjavi in ​​Azerbaijan.

Notably, the year 2021 in Azerbaijan has been declared as the year of Nizami Ganjav.

President Ilham Aliyev declared this year the "Year of Nizami Ganjavi" in Azerbaijan, taking into account the exceptional importance of the poet's work, which always calls people to moral perfection and instills high spiritual qualities as an achievement of human culture.

The country also celebrates the 880th anniversary of  the great poet and thinker with multiple events.

The Cabinet of Ministers has been instructed to develop and implement an action plan for the Nizami Ganjavi Year.

Nizami's legacy is of great importance for Azerbaijani culture. The poet, who began by writing lyrics in short forms – gasida, gazal, rubai has gained popularity all over the world.

The works of Nizami Ganjavi were translated into many languages. The rare manuscript copies of his works are kept and preserved like precious pearls in famous libraries, museums and literary foundations in cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Baku, Tashkent, Tabriz, Tehran, Cairo, Istanbul, Delhi, London, Paris and others.

In Khamsa (Quintet), the poet revealed the living pages of history. The attack of the Russians on Barda city, a fairy tale of the Russian Princess, the beautiful Shirin amazons, battles, described in various poems of Nizami - all this is historically and geographically related to medieval Azerbaijan and the Caucasus.

The description of a man's inner world, his feelings, and thoughts along with the dynamic development of the main hero's characters underlies the basic aim and content of Nizami’s literary school.

Nizami Ganjavi passed away in 1209 in his native city of Ganja. A grandiose tomb was raised over his grave.

A monument to the world famous Azerbaijani pop and opera singer, People's Artist of the USSR Muslim Magomayev will be installed in the Baku National Seaside Park, the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan.

The monument to Magomayev is almost ready. It will be installed on the territory of the National Park, not far from the Puppet Theater, and made of bronze, the ministry said.

The territory where the monument will be installed has already been fenced.

On March 12, 2020, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on the installation of a monument to Muslim Magomayev in Baku.

Famous opera singer, People's Artist Elchin Azizov has been awarded the Interstate Prize "Stars of the Commonwealth".

The international award “Stars of the Commonwealth” was established in 2009 by the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS member countries.

The prize is awarded to one representative from each republic for achievements in science and education, culture and art, and humanitarian activities. The process of nomination of laureates is carried out by the International Jury, which includes prominent scientists, government and public figures of the CIS countries.

This forum was held with the organizational support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan and the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS member countries.

By tradition, the solemn ceremony of awarding the laureates is planned to be held within the Forum of Creative and Scientific Intelligentsia of the CIS Member States in Uzbekistan this year.

Notably, Elchin Azizov has been a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater since 2008.

He has successfully performed in Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta", Sergei  Prokofiev's "The Love for Three Oranges", Georges Bizet's "Carmen", Giuseppe Verdi's  "Don Carlos" and so on.

Azizov is the winner of the 2nd Prize of the International Opera Singers Contest of Galina Vishnevskaya (2008), and the 4th Prize of the International Opera Singers Contest of Bulbul in Baku (2005).