Jafar Jabbarli Award recognises outstanding talents

A presentation of the Jafar Jabbarli Award has been presented to the Central Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences with financial support from the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

The event was organized within the framework of the project "Jafar Jabbarli - a great artistic benefactor of our literature" by the Public Union for Assistance to the Development of Culture, Science, and Education named after Jafar Jabbarli.

During the presentation ceremony, Honored Cultural Worker Qamar Seyfeddingizi provided information about new books and projects published in connection with the 125th anniversary of the prominent writer. She noted the multifaceted and profound nature of Jafar Jabbarli’s artistic and journalistic creativity.

"The award is intended for the promotion of Jafar Jabbarli's work, for the research on his works, and for artists who have made exceptional contributions to the embodiment of the playwright’s theatrical creations. Considering the richness of the writer’s creativity and his invaluable contributions to various fields of art, the award has recently included a wider range of nominations," she said.

During the event, a video presentation depicting the chronological order of the prominent playwright's works was showcased.

Subsequently, the Jafar Jabbarli Award was presented to intellectuals in the fields of literary studies, literature, theatre, and directing.

President of National Academy of Sciences, Academician Isa Habibbayli, emphasized that Jafar Jabbarli has made exceptional contributions to Azerbaijani theatre and literature. He remarked that the works of this prominent playwright are still relevant today and contribute to the development of the younger generation.

Jafar Jabbarli was a great Azerbaijani playwright and one of the founders of the national film dramaturgy. He occupied a prominent place in the development of Azerbaijani art and literature as a playwright, poet, theater director, translator, and screenwriter.

He was a prominent representative of progressive romanticism, whose oeuvres reflected the sharp contradictions of Azerbaijani society.

Jabbarli started writing at an early age. His first poem was published in 1911, in the local newspaper Hagigat-i Afkar. In the following years, he penned over 20 plays, as well as stories, poems, essays, and articles.

He also translated European classics, such as Shakespeare's Othello and Hamlet, Pierre Beaumarchais's The Marriage of Figaro, etc.

The writer's focus was on the theater where he achieved huge success. His plays Baku War, Devoted Sariyya or Laughter Through Tears, Shah Nasraddin, Bride of Fire, Sevil, and Almaz gained widespread popularity.

In his plays, Jabbarli was keen on women's freedom, the elimination of gender inequality, and the solution to problems pertaining to mass ignorance among women.

Two of his plays, Sevil and Almaz, both written in 1928, focused on women's role and their struggle against patriarchy.

In 1929, Sevil film was shot based on the play of the same name. It was the first domestic film against gender inequality.

In this play, Jabbarli describes two women, Sevil, a beautiful woman, who obeyed her husband unquestioningly, and Dilbar, Balash's mistress, and a man named Balash, who disliked his past, repudiated traditions and customs and turned away from his own father.

Inspired by the success of the play Sevil, Jafar Jabbarli started to work on a screenplay for Almaz film. Unfortunately, he could not finish it amid health issues. His friends and colleagues continued his cinematographic activities and completed the shooting of the film that was released after Jabbarli's death. The film tells about Almaz, who was not scared to come across a "kulak" - a wealthy peasant, called Haji Ahmad. She fought against kulaks, sparked a revolution in the village, led her struggle, and won.

After so many years, Jabbarli's legacy still continues to inspire people. The museum named after him was established in 1934. Over 137,000 exhibits are stored at the Jafar Jabbarli Theater Museum.

The Jafar Jabbarli State Theater Museum systematically holds events dedicated to prominent theatrical figures, lectures, and exhibitions. In 2004, the Union of Theater Workers awarded the museum the Golden Dervish Award for the acquisition and storage of materials on the history of the theater.