"A letter to God" to join U.S film festival

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

The short film “A letter to God” by young director Maria Ibrahimova, will be included in the contest list of the 12th DC Shorts Film Festival to be held in the U.S.

The film was shot as part of the “Three histories” project, realized by the Office of the State Historical-Architectural Reserve “Icherisheher” and supported by the “Nar Mobile” operator.

The 17-minute drama is about a man, whom upon learning that he’s going to die, decides to write a letter to God.

The idea of shooting the film came to the filmmaker’s mind after reading a story by Israeli writer Marian Belenkiy. She then decided to bring the story to life, adapting "A letter to God" to the atmosphere of the Icherisheher.

Maria also starred in the film and played one of the heroines. “I could not find an actress for this role. So I decided that if I can not find someone who will play the role, as I wish, then I will play myself,” she said. “This is my first experience when I am both behind and in front of the camera. To be honest, it's very, very difficult.”

This year, the festival, to scheduled for September 10-20, will feature some 125 films produced by 24 countries.

The films will compete in the following categories: Outstanding Live Action Short, Outstanding Animated Short, Outstanding Documentary Short, Outstanding First-Time Director, Outstanding Local Film, as well as Filmmakers’ Choice, Festival Programmer’s Choice, and Audience Favorite Awards.

DC Shorts turns the spotlight on truly independent short films created around the globe. In 2014, the festival received over 1,200 entries from 51 nations, and screened 135 films from 25 countries in 18 unique showcases over 11 days to audiences of more than 9,000 people.