Our LIVE arts talks will introduce the participants to successful film proffesionals and people who are working with them. This is a part of our live arts talks series which will explore the transformative power of the UK arts and culture to develop creative expression and enterprise, creating a more connected, sustainable and inclusive society in Azerbaijan. The next session is planned as a follow up for British Film Festival.
Our fifth LIVE session will be held on 22 February, 18.00 in Azerbaijani, and is called "Film as a guiding force behind ideas."
Our speakers:
LALA ALIYEVA
Lala Aliyeva is a documentary filmmaker from Azerbaijan. She started her career as a freelance journalist involved in different media projects. When she discovered cinema she entered Goldsmiths University to study Visual Anthropology. She produced several short documentaries, including her graduation project They Whisper but Sometimes Scream, 2019. The film had its world premier at Vision du Reel and UK Premier at Sheffield Doc/Fest.
SITARA IBRAHIMBAYLI
Studied first psychology in Baku and then at The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), she uses photos as well as videos, for creating visual narratives of the people and places in her work. Sitara has exhibited all around the world, including the exhibition ‘Our Land/Alien Territory’ at the 6th Moscow Biennale, the 2015 exhibition :"BALAGAN!!!: Contemporary Art from the Former Soviet Union and Other Mythical Places" with MOMENTUM in Berlin, the 55th Venice Biennale, and again in ‘The Great Game’ exhibition of the Iran Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. She also regularly shows her work in Baku. Sitara also participated in Project Management Programme, organized in Hamburger Bahnhof Gallery, in 2012. She is the founder and creative director of the VarYox platform since 2018.
RASHID AGHAMALIYEV
Rashid is film producer and director. After graduation from Palacky University Olomouc with a degree in Film studies and English Philology, he studied Philosophy at Utrecht University and Film Production at FAMU International. He is author of the book Azerbaijani Animation (2018) and founder Azerbaijan’s first International Animation Festival ANIMAFILM. Rashid is CEO of PERI FILM LLC, which focuses on production of animated and documentary films in Azerbaijan.
RUFAT HASANOV (moderator)
Rufat is a film director and Head of Cinema department at the Ministry of Culture Azerbaijan. A graduate of Bates College, he worked for Vice Media in New York City and "Telekanal Dozhd" in Moscow. His feature debut, Chameleon (co-directed with Elvin Adigozel) was nominated for the Golden Leopard in the “Filmmakers of the Present” programme at the 2013 Locarno Film Festival. His recent feature "The Island Within" won Best Director Award at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival.
Session recordings on Facebook:
- Session 4 - Exploring new opportunities in film industry
- Session 3 - Architecture, Fashion, Design
- Session 2 - Creative Economy
- Session 1 - Music
Speakers from the previous sessions:
AFSANA YUSIFOVA
Afsana is a filmmaker, screenwriter and photographer. Inspired by the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Bresson, and Abbas Kiarostami, Afsana started her career in 2014. In 2016 she made her first documentary about women living in the rural areas of Lankaran who were abandoned by their husbands moving to different cities of Russia in search for better life. Her newest documentary about a family with three children with autism, is in post-production.
FIKRIN BEKTASHI
Fikrin is a lawyer, an expert in Intellectual Property Law and cultural reforms, member of the legislative working group at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Fikrin has authored laws on culture and cinematography, delivered to the Ministry of Culture to support new concepts of Film Commission, Film Fund, and Development of Film Sector.
JAVID DAVUD
Javid is a filmmaker, screenwriter and film director. A graduate of Westminster University and London Film School, Javid worked with Mammoth Screen and East London Films in the UK. His script "Nargiz" won the official competition held by the Ministry of Culture in 2019, and is set to direct it as his debut feature. He is also working on a documentary about Gulmammad Mammadov, an IDP (Internally Displaced Person); and completed an experimental short film about York Way street in London (set to be screened at Barbican Cinema).
RUFAT HASANOV
Rufat is a film director. A graduate of Bates College, he worked for Vice Media in New York City and "Telekanal Dozhd" in Moscow. His feature debut, Chameleon (co-directed with Elvin Adigozel) was nominated for the Golden Leopard in the “Filmmakers of the Present” programme at the 2013 Locarno Film Festival. His recent feature "The Island Within" won Best Director Award at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival.
CHRISTINE BARDSLEY (moderator)
Christine is a film programme manager at the British Council. After various roles including managing development projects in Bangladesh and heading our office in Gaza, she joined the Film team in 2001. Christine specialises in documentary, developing projects with partners including the Grierson Trust, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Scottish Documentary Institute and One World Media. She is also Documentary Strand Advisor for the BFI London Film Festival.