The Azerbaijan Culture Ministry has awarded eminent film critic, director, screenwriter, teacher, Honored Artist Ayaz Salayev with an honorary diploma, Azernews reports.
The Culture Minister, Adil Karimli, congratulated the film director on his 65th anniversary and conveyed his best wishes.
Noting Ayaz Salayev's contributions to the development of Azerbaijani cinematography, the Minister also highlighted his commendable work as a film critic.
Adil Karimli mentioned that the director was honored with the Culture Ministry's honorary diploma for his efforts in advancing national cinematography and presented the award during the jubilee.
The film director expressed his gratitude to the Culture Ministry for the attention paid to his activities.
Ayaz Salayev is an Azerbaijani film scholar, director, screenwriter, educator, television presenter, and actor. He was awarded the title of Honored Art Worker of Azerbaijan in 2000.
He was born on August 1, 1960, in Baku. In 1982, he graduated from the film studies faculty of VGIK (Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography), where he studied under L.Kh. Mamatova and E.D. Surkov.
From 1983 to 1985, he hosted the television program "Retro" on Azerbaijani TV, which became a cult classic under his direction.
Between 1986 and 1988, he pursued postgraduate studies at VGIK.
In 1988, he made his directorial debut with the documentary "Father" (Ata), featuring the daughter of millionaire and philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.
In 1995, he directed the feature film "The Bat" (Yarasa), which premiered successfully at the Berlin Film Festival.
From 1994 to 2000, Ayaz Salayev served as the artistic director of the State Film Fund of Azerbaijan.
From 2012 to 2024, the film director worked as a senior research fellow at the Institute of Architecture and Art of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.
He teaches at the Department of Dramaturgy and Film Studies at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts.
Since 2022, Ayaz Salayev has been a member of the European Film Academy. In 2023, the film director was awarded the "Progress" Medal.
As of April 2024, Ayaz Salayev holds the position of Deputy Director for Scientific and Creative Work at the Azerbaijan State Film Fund.
