Azerbaijani films to be screened in Bosnia and Herzegovina

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani film "Gukhuroba" will be screened at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival. The film's world premiere will take place at the festival, to be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on August 14-21. 

Director Teymur Gambarov, the film narrates about a taxi driver who fulfills a friends request to deliver a wedding dress for his daughter from Baku to the highland village of Gukhuroba.

Another national film will be also shown at the festival. Directed by Rufat Hasanov, "The Island Within" tells about Seymur Tahirbayov who is one of the world’s leading chess grandmasters. A few weeks before the most important game of his career, he secretly travels to an island inhabited by a just one resident in order to rediscover himself.

"The Island Within" was shot by order of the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture by Azerbaijanfilm and Debüt film studios, together with Arizona Productions, Coyote Cinema and Mandarin Agency. 

The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. 

Founded in 1995, the film festival brings international and local celebrities to Sarajevo every year.

The event is held in August and showcases an extensive variety of feature and short films from around the world. The current director of the festival is Mirsad Purivatra, former CEO of the Bosnian branch of McCann Erickson.

This year, the festival's jury will be represented by French film director Michel Hazanavicius. He will be joined by Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian; Croatian actress Jadranka ?oki?; Serbian director Srdan Golubovi?; and Morelia film festival head of industry and training projects Andrea Stavenhagen.