ANIMAFILM presents: 50th Anniversary of Azerbaijani Animation

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

With the support of the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture, ANIMAFILM Festival has presented cult Azerbaijani animated films at International Animation Festival in Greece, as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Azerbaijani animation.

The list of animated films include "Jirtdan" (dir. Aghanaghi Akhundov, Yalchin Efendiyev, 1969),"Ms. Beetle and Mr. Mouse" (dir. Masud Panahi, Aghanaghi Akhundov, 1974), "J?rtdan the Giant" (first film, dir. Bahman Aliyev, 1981), "Mother on a Tree"(dir. Frangiz Kurbanova, 1986), "Dedication" (dir. Shamil Najafzada, 1990), "Dispute of the Fruits" (dir. Elchin Hami Akhundov, 1994) and "Continuity" (dir. Samir Salahov, 2017).

The program was presented by ANIMAFILM’s director Rashid Aghamaliyev and aroused great interest among the viewers.

"On behalf of the ANIMAFILM Festival team, I want to express gratitude that you invited us to this beautiful event and celebrated the 50th anniversary of Azerbaijani animation with us! It is an honor to us that AnimaSyros was the first festival which helped us promote and celebrate Azerbaijani animation on an international level. I hope it is only the beginning of a strong friendship and productive partnership between our festivals!" said the festival director.

He also presented a Certificate of Appreciation and a copy of the book Azerbaijani Animation to Stephen Alan, the programmer of AnimaSyros Festival.

Tributes to the 50th anniversary of Azerbaijani animation are also planned to be held in Georgia (TOFUZI Festival), Poland (StopTrik Festival), and Switzerland (Black Movie Festival). A celebration of the anniversary will also take place in Azerbaijan during the 2nd ANIMAFILM Festival in October 2019.

The 2nd ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival will take place in Baku on October 18 – 20, with the support from the Azerbaijan Union of Filmmakers (keypartner), Embassy of the Czech Republic in Azerbaijan and The Institut Français in Azerbaijan.

A number of international and local animated films will be presented to children and adults during the three days of the festival.This festival is an annual event promoting the art of animation that started with the 1st ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival in 2018.

For more information please visit: animafilm.az