Azerbaijan's cinema has a long history that dates back over 100 years.
From its first film in 1898 to today, Azerbaijani filmmakers have created stories that reflect the country's culture and history.
To celebrate the 127th anniversary of Azerbaijani cinematography, the Culture Ministry has organized an event at the Nizami Cinema Center, bringing together cultural figures, cinema professionals, and fans to recognize the achievements of the past and look forward to the future of Azerbaijani cinema, Azernews reports.
Deputy Culture Minister Saadat Yusifova, who addressed the event, emphasized that Azerbaijani cinema, which emerged simultaneously with the world film industry, has come a long way in development. Over the years, it has experienced many ups and downs, gone through various transformations, but has always remained true to national traditions and high spiritual values.
"National Leader Heydar Aliyev highly valued the ideological significance of cinematography, in every possible way supporting the development of the film industry and showing special care for its representatives. Today, this policy is successfully continued by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. A striking example of this is the awarding of filmmakers with high state awards, which demonstrates the constant attention of the head of state to cinematography," Saadat Yusifova said.
She also brought to attention that in 2023-2025, a total of 15.9 million manats were allocated for the development of the film industry. Work on 35 films has been completed, and another 31 films are in the production stage.
S. Yusifova emphasized that at present, it is also planned to implement a film park project, which will operate on the basis of the Azerbaijanfilm film studio named after Jafar Jabbarly. The project is envisaged to be implemented on the basis of the principle of public-private partnership.
The Chairman of the Azerbaijan Film-Makers Union, People's Artist Rasim Balayev spoke about the development of national cinema, emphasizing that in recent years, national cinema has entered a new stage of development, accompanied by special care for filmmakers. He also congratulated his colleagues on their professional holiday and wished them creative success.
Director General of the Azerbaijan Cinema Agency Rashad Azizov noted that one of the main tasks of the agency, which operates under the Culture Ministry, is the comprehensive development of the domestic film industry from both artistic and production points of view.
"Today, we strive to build a full-fledged ecosystem within which new participants in the film industry could form and develop. By participants, we mean both government agencies and representatives of the non-governmental and private sectors, creative people and professional institutions. The interaction of these participants will create a sustainable environment and achieve high results," Rashad Azizov said.
He also pointed out that on the instructions of the Azerbaijan Culture Minister Adil Karimli, applications for a new film production competition will begin to be accepted from September 1.
Rashad Azizov added that this year the Cinema Agency plans to implement a number of key initiatives, including holding the Baku Cinema Breeze film festival, as well as traditional support for five other film festivals.
Then a video dedicated to the Baku Cinema Breeze project was shown, followed by an award ceremony for filmmakers who have made a significant contribution to the development and popularization of Azerbaijani cinema.
The winners of the traditional award of the Azerbaijan Film-Makers Union for 2025 were Sabuhi Atababayev, cameraman Daniel Guliyev, director Parviz Hasanov, film producer Fehruz Shamiyev, and well-known actor Fakhraddin Manafov.
Then, as part of the event, the names of the winners of the full-length feature film script competition "I am a Woman", organized by the Azerbaijan Film-Makers, were announced.
The event continued with the premiere screening of short feature films: "With Love from Orion" (directed by Rafik Hajiyev), "Fallen Angel" (directed by Elmar Farzali), "Live Long" (directed by Samir Kerimoglu).
Note that Azerbaijan National Cinema Day dates back to August 2, 1898, when the first mass screening of film clips took place in Baku.
By the order of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev dated December 18, 2000, August 2 was declared the Day of Azerbaijani Cinema.
This day is celebrated every year through a series of events, organized by the Culture Ministry to honor the rich legacy of Azerbaijani cinema.
