Azerbaijani film shines at 39th Montreal World Film Festival

/By AzerNews/

By Laman Sadigova

Vahid Mustafayev's film "Bloody January," dedicated to the 25th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in the history of Azerbaijan, was awarded in the 39th Montreal World Film Festival 2015.

The film’s premiere was attended by the festival founder, Serge Losique, and various high-ranking officials.

The film tells the story of the saddest events during the night of January 20 in 1990, when the Soviet Army invaded Baku and nearby towns killing many civilians.

During those times, the Soviet Army began hostilities against Azerbaijan, without declaring an emergency situation. As a result, 132 people were killed, 612 people injured, and 841 people illegally arrested. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

The film tells of this sad page in the Azerbaijani people’s struggle for independence, seen through the eyes of two brothers, Najaf Narimanov, a Communist and KGB officer, and Mehdi Narimanov, a former officer of the Soviet army in Afghanistan who converted into revolutionary democrat. The brothers both yearn for a prosperous Azerbaijan, but have completely different political leanings.

After the film was shown, Serge Losique presented an award of recognition to film director Vahid Mustafayev.

More than 65 countries attended the 2015 39th Montreal World Film Festival.