Cinema workers to be awarded

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan Cinematographers Union has revealed the names of the first winners of the National Film Award 2019.

People's Artist, screenwriter Ramiz Fataliyev will get the highest award for his contribution to Azerbaijani and Soviet cinematography, Azertag reported.

Also, People's Artist, screenwriter Abdulahad Mahmudov will get the prize in honor of his 75th anniversary and contribution to domestic cinematography.

The awards will be presented at the Nizami Cinema Center on August 2, the National Cinema Day.

Azerbaijan Cinematographers Union was established in 2012. This decision to create the Union was taken during the event at the Nizami Cinema Center dedicated to the theme "Cinema and Conceptual Problems".

The main activity of the Union is presenting national films in the international arena, their shooting, organization of international symposia and conferences, formation of cinema infrastructure.

Azerbaijan has a rich cinema history and has significantly contributed to the international film industry.

Today, the Azerbaijani cinema has come to be an internationally recognized modern art enjoying a huge popularity and recognition at international film festivals, which frequently award the national films. Over the past years, more than 300 films and 1,200 documentaries, as well as hundreds of cartoons were filmed.

Shortly after the Lumiere brothers from France invented cinematograph, an apparatus for making motion pictures, in 1895, Russian photographer and cameraman Alexandre Michon began shooting motion pictures that depicted everyday life in Baku. 

The first short, silent film of Azerbaijani cinematography "You are caught" was shown in Baku on August 2, 1898. The audience witnessed a historical event - the birth of Azerbaijani cinematography.

To honor this historical day, the national leader Heydar Aliyev signed an order on December 18, 2000, to declare August 2 as professional holiday of cinema workers – Day of Azerbaijani Cinema.