MISSIONARY

It is unlikely that anyone living in Azerbaijan is unaware of Ogtay Mirgasim. His genealogy goes back centuries; his works, like his whole life, is very well known.

Ogtay Mirgasim is our guest today. He is a well-known film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, teacher, and writer, who has been awarded twice with the Shohrat Order for his enormous contribution to national culture. On the 75^th anniversary of the film director and writer, the Union of Writers of Azerbaijan held a presentation of his book When They Were All Alive... and officially announced the awarding of Mirgasim with the Sharaf Order. The same book was the reason for our meeting today. It includes two stories (Music for Rasulov and The Billiard Player), short stories A Touch of An Angel and When They Were All Alive, a quasi-poem and a series of miniatures presented under a common name From the Yangtze To the Amazon: Fossil.

Ogtay Mirgasim is the People's Artist of Azerbaijan, professor, author of numerous documentary and short films, owner of national and international prizes at various film festivals, laureate of the National Cinema Award. This time, however, he presents himself as an author writing in contemporary genre reflecting the structure of different epochs and times.

“You are a film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, teacher, and writer. Which of the following would you prefer?”

“I would love to single out one of these professions as my main function or, simply speaking, my main occupation but I'm afraid I cannot do that.”

“Why?”

“Let me start with teaching then, or mentoring, if you will. I would say this is my main role, or should I say, my mission. I apologize for being flatulent...”

“Do you mean teaching at the University of Culture and Arts?”

“I mean life in general. My daily participation in it. It is not only about my family duties. Our role functions change every day. At different times, I can be a family head, a passer-by, a colleague, a friend or acquaintance, and so on and so forth. And mentorship can manifest itself in all these roles. Even on the street, if I see, for example, someone ready to commit an action that may lead to undesirable results, I will certainly not remain silent. I always hope that my ‘tips’ can save someone from a mistake. If, for some reason, I found myself at that particular place at that particular moment, then I have to use my chance.”

“Is this something pertinent to your teaching activity or a genetic gift?”

“Perhaps, it's genetics. My ancestors once came to this land from the Arab world as preachers, missionaries, whose main duty was to enlighten and educate people spiritually. It is a noble but difficult mission.”

“History of Azerbaijani medicine is intimately associated with the name of your father, the first president of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. Those who knew him, still cherish good memories of M. Asadulla Mirgasimov. He was also a missionary, wasn’t he?”

“My father is one of the brightest missionaries. He was a veteran of two world wars, a hospital doctor and wartime surgeon, who trained many generations of doctors, including surgeons. I remember his students, members of his professorial chair, and colleagues regularly visiting us at home; I remember the amazing atmosphere that he could create. He often used these moments of informal communication not only to transmit his professional experience to them but also his understanding of the moral laws of life.”

“Perhaps, it was also a technique your father used to ‘feed’ his ever-hungry students.”

“Absolutely! His students used to gather at our apartment in Baku or at our dacha. They were very attached to my dad. He was born in 1883 and has remained a man of the 19^th century throughout his entire life by preserving the moral ideals of those days. He was a true and unshakable democrat.”

“Aristocrat by the spirit, that’s how they call such people, who are respected for not boasting of their social status, achievements or fame. Rather, they know how to respect the dignity of other people.”

“That’s true! Dad was a perfect role model. He was not known as a democrat; he was the one indeed! A democrat and an internationalist. Professor Mirgasimov by title, he used a polite form of address with his subordinates and treated them with great respect. I like those virtues of him.”

“You’re of the same age with your father. If you had a chance to talk with him now, what would you ask him about?”

“I would not ask questions. I would fall at his feet repenting and praying for forgiveness. For everything I did wrong in this life. For being not perfect. I think he would have forgiven me, for at least I have tried to be better than I am.”

“Hence missionary activities are the main role function in your life?”

“I would very much like to answer this question ‘yes’, but, alas, it would be untrue. I came to this profession when I was sixteen, and I have been fascinated since studying the life through cinema for fifty-nine years. I have immersed into an atmosphere that created a sense of family life for me as soon as entered the studio. I liked it so much and was so impressed that I wanted to keep this sense of harmony forever. Doing your favourite thing is great. But everything is changing. Actually, I have stopped filming since 2014! I see my profession in my dreams now. I always see the same dream that I'm shooting a movie!”

“Do you mean cinema is your most important role function?”

“I could probably admit that, if it were not for... a constant urge to write texts. I would not call everything I have written literature, as it would be too presumptuous. But I must admit that I love the process of writing! It is a sort of confessional state of mind, thoughts, and mood. I really love it! But I feel the same about the wildlife. I love working in the garden. Sometimes I think that I could be a dog trainer or a gardener. I do not know if I occupy myself with something new at some time in the future. I would be glad to return to old days to shoot a film, as long as I have strength. But, in principle, nothing is impossible for a man.”

“Do you already have an idea? Script?”

“Yes, the script is ready. I have some ideas too.”

“I hope it is the adaptation of your story The Billiard Player? Say that I’m right!”

“Well, I do not want to upset you. Yes, it’s based on The Billiard Player too. But I would not call it an adaptation. I have slightly revised the plot.”

“Why? It is such a wonderful story. Your City is like a living character. You risk impairing the image of the City? I do not believe it’s true!”

“I hope you’ll forgive me, but you probably understand that the story cannot be filmed in its present form. This will require... significant funding. Where can I get it? But that is a different story.”

“One of the characters in your book is the Lion. Why are you so strongly attached to it? Is it some kind of a mystical connection or your secret totem?”

“I do not want to upset you being dishonest with you. Everything is much simpler. Maybe even more prosaic.

Long time ago, I took my daughters, Rena and Ayan, to the zoo. When we reached lion’s cage, he was resting on the ground half-sleep. It was a healthy, beautiful, and powerful animal. But since I'm a cinematographer, I was telling my daughters something trying, at the same time, not to disturb the animal with our presence. Watching how the lion was breathing heavily in his sleep, I began telling them an imaginary story about the lion’s dreams about the savannah, his tribe, wildlife, and freedom. We were really sorry for him.

When we were about to leave, a large group of adults and children approached the cage. A short man from this group found a thin rod of wood and began poking the lion with it. The lion could not understand who this man was and why he was doing so. He opened one eye and let out a warning growl. At that time, I though that I was hearing the thoughts of the poor animal. I asked the man not to touch the beast, because it was in a cage, besides it was sleeping. But he continued to poke it with his rod. The man and his companions looked very amused. I could feel the pain of the animal in every cell of my body; I could feel its bewilderment, fury, and terrible longing for freedom! But, apparently, Leo was fed up to death with that shorty too. It stood up, raised its huge head and howled. One could hear more resentment in his voice than anger and hatred for the man who insulted him, the King, and disturbed his peace for nothing. It seemed that the lion shouted in his royal language: “Despicable you! You enjoy the helplessness of a creature in captivity and dreaming of freedom… Damn you, frailty, thy name is man! You do not understand my grief and my anguish!” That’s how I interpreted the tragedy of Leo... Then I copied the state of the lion yearning for freedom in my matrix forever. That’s how the character of lion emerged.”

“This is an absolutely normal situation, when the artist reveals his thoughts giving the reader a chance to read between the lines.”

“The logic of an artist is a moment of supreme illumination, which is from God. We are only conductors of His will. That’s all we can do!”

“Your character defends his inner world from manifestations of the external world. Usually, introverts are people of creative professions. Do you think that introversive type of mindset helps creative people to survive in the society, or vice versa?”

“I think it all depends on a particular situation. From pragmatic viewpoint, it doesn’t help at all. Because the desire to follow own principles and ideals limits the choice of means to influence the situation. The life of my dad is a typical example. He was an adamant person. I had situations in my life when emotions were driving my behaviour due to a complete absence of fear. Then, of course, I was blaming myself. But I often was afraid of making wrong moves that would upset the Supervisor watching after my actions from above. The fear of “being incompliant” is tantamount to betraying oneself and all the moral laws of your generation.

Inability to flatter and bow often prevents enrichment, career development and so on. Flattery, obsequiousness, and begging are not inherent to my character. I always knew that a person could achieve everything in his life, including the recognition of merits, thanks to his hard work and efforts. Sometimes I am told that I still preserve the maximalism and naïveté of the young. But! I received a title from the state, two orders, a personal pension, and various awards. Isn’t it a recognition of my humble work? As a citizen of this country, I am happy. I am grateful to all the people who have noticed and appreciate my services, and to the President of our country who cares about creative people.”

“It seems that you are upset by pragmatism and cynicism of our age. Would you like to live in another century?”

“Being a creative person, I can virtually fly to any time, any era. Because imagination makes up everything necessary to fix a thought in time. I don’t need a time machine to travel in time. I was born when I was born. In the twentieth century! And I live in the twenty first! This is my time and my path that I have to go through. Yes, I am sceptical about the time that has lost its aesthetic and moral ideals. But this time belongs to me, and I belong to it. Like any artist, I have the right to personal preference. Therefore, I choose my own! Perhaps, someone likes the Renaissance or the Absolutism. It’s all about personal choice and taste. My time is given to me by the Almighty. I am just a link in the long chain of my ancestral tree. And I must go my way in this time to fulfil my duties as they were predestined. My children and grandchildren will follow me later. I hope so.”

“If you are not filming, you should be writing. Can you tell what you are working on now?”

“I don’t make a secret of my activities. But if there was one, I would definitely share it with you. In fact, I’m planning to translate the scripts of my films into prose. One of the recent unrealised scripts is Rising: With the Creator's Name. There are other unrealised scripts as well. Perhaps I'll go with translation. Recently I had an experience and realised that translation was a fascinating work.”

“What are you dreaming about?”

“Please do not interpret my answer as a desire to glorify my personality. I say this in all interviews. My dream is that the issue of territorial allegiance of Karabakh to Azerbaijan be finally solved justly. Neither my compatriots nor I want anyone on this planet suffer from evil and wars. But I feel offended. We want justice, which means that people should not be refugees in their own country. They were forcibly expelled from their territories. I believe that everyone in my country should feel like a Karabakhi. The return of lands, houses, historical monuments is my main and long-term dream. The rest is not even worth discussion. I'm insatiable in my dreams. I dream about many things...”

“But still?”

“I would like to see my children and grandchildren, relatives and friends as often as possible. I also want to work in cinema because I am still able to work as a director, writer, and producer. I have ideas, strength, and plans that I would like to materialise. You know, I wish I had time to do many things. If God wills, then I am ready to start the process immediately.”

“I hope your dream about film studio will come true. It must come true. And maybe we have a new patron such as Taghiyev, who is not indifferent to the fate of the national cinema...”

“I hope so too! Will such a person appear or not, but I believe in changes for the better. The process of renewal in our society has begun. I hope that it will take us to a long-awaited result. I feel that the Renaissance is coming...”