"GOD'S STILL HAPPY WITH US"

We are in a cosy room overlooking the Government House and the bustling Uzeyir Hajibeyov Street. Somewhere out there is the vast expanse of the Caspian Sea, the depths of which are teeming with memories of Baku and its inhabitants. Paintings hanging on walls, bookshelves filled with books and photographs with smiling children and grandchildren of the owner of the room lend a particular depth to surrounding ambience. A mild female voice coming from TV is telling the story of Italy with bright images of the country accompanying her narrative on the screen.

His appearance interrupts our peaceful contemplation. Eldar Guliyev is a legendary screenwriter and director of Azerbaijani cinema. His films reveal the essence of a human character in its entirety, expressing a profound belief in its virtues and nobility, showing the life of Baku and its inhabitants. His charming face with an interesting pattern of wrinkles around the eyes reflects a worldly wisdom and suggests us to hold a confidential conversation. Before us is the Master. And that's it!

"So, what have you got for me today?" the director of all-time hits Bay of Joy, Wind of Changes, Legend of The Silver Lake, This Beautiful World, Country Walk and many others says smiling. Who does know the current state of affairs in Azerbaijani cinema better than Eldar Guliyev, who can also take us to the glorious past of his art telling stories about the films that are still relevant today?

"Italy... Do you have a dream to visit any of the famous countries?"

"Yes, but I've never dreamed of big cities, such as Tokyo and New York. I would love to visit Jerusalem and Mecca. Alas, these dreams still remain dreams. I think the atmosphere of sacred places favours reflections about oneself, about people, about life and everything that is surrounding us."

"But it is still possible to make your dreams come true..."

"One needs to walk a lot there, but I'm not at that age anymore. I wish I could walk there pondering over the world history and the development of civilisations... I wish I could touch the Wailing Wall or walk along the streets of Mecca and see everything I know from the books, touching the eternity for a moment."

"Your bookshelves have plenty of books on religion. What is your relationship with God?"

"I have always been a man of faith. When I was a child, I used to accompany my grandmother on her way to the mosque. I have always believed in a man and his nobility. After all, we are His best creatures. We only need to be rightful in our faith and deeds being grateful for whatever He has bestowed upon us. As one famous Indian writer would say, the birth of any single person suggests that God is still happy with us. And with each birth comes a hope for a better world."

"Can we say that your works express your faith in men?"

"If one doesn’t believe in men, then there’s no point in doing creative work. The ideas in all of my films come from my heart. The plot would become a part of myself, and only then I began to work on them. Honesty of author is very important here. There is no place to lies! If I lie to myself, I lie to my audience too, which means that whatever I tell them sounds and looks unconvincing and unimpressive. Honesty helps to make films unforgettable. This is paramount for any master."

"It turns out that the success of your films is your honesty?"

"I have always filmed what I believed. I simply cannot do otherwise."

"What themes did you find more intriguing?"

"Characters in certain complicated situations, trying to find a rational way out. Unexpected circumstances in which I put my heroes and the search for an answer and expressive solutions are the main plot of my films. The main thing was to solve issues with a masculine dignity, even if I had female characters in films. I have always escaped situations which would make me ashamed before the audience, my friends and relatives for the actions of my heroes."

"What was harder to do: to make the audience laugh or cry?"

"I never thought about it. For me, as I already noted, it has been important to intrigue the viewer, tell him about the things that I find important, talk to him. Cinema is a medium of mass conversation. Films are not made just for fun, nor are the books. The ultimate goal of any creative work is to touch the subtlest strings of soul."

"Did you give preference to popular actors or new stars during casting?"

"None of the above (lighting up his cigarette). First, I knew the actors well enough. As funny as it sounds, but when I wrote the director's script, I could imagine, for example, Jean Gabin or Alain Delon, who would fit well the specific roles I was writing the script for. Then I instructed my assistants to find me similar types of actors. We would visit theatres, clubs, schools and colleges in various cities and even villages to find ones. But there were as many different situations as films."

"Have you ever made a wrong choice? What did you do in such situations?"

"Let me remember (thinking). I'd rather say yes, but I thought that it was my fault only, because I would approve actors or actresses for certain roles. But at the same time, I had to do something to recover the situation and finish the filming process as soon as possible."

"Did it affect the final outcome?

"Of course, it did. You see, the screen is white and all the drawbacks and noise is clearly visible on it. Sometimes one can feel that a director cannot find a common language with actor or actors. In such cases, I tried to show such actors less or even show them on a generic scene to make invisible what I did not want to show to the audience."

"What do you care most — opinion of the audience or critics?"

"Frankly speaking, the opinion of the audience is more important to me. After all, I create something for them, not for a group of critics. I still enjoy when someone approaches me on the street telling me impressions about my past films and wondering why they do not make similar films today."

"Journalists often ask you the same question..."

"Yes. They say, for example, that there were good films back in the Soviet times. 99% of people still enjoy watching these films. They personify them with their own past, finding the content and idea appealing."

"Do you think the main reason was the collapse of the USSR? In fact, we witnessed a sharp decline in cinematography after the 1990s?.."

"No, not only for this reason. The main component of any filming process is financing. Cinema is a very expensive business. We spent million roubles to make Nizami. The budget of Babek was more than a million and a half roubles. By the way, no need to compare these amounts with today's currency. In those years, electricity and other infrastructure were cheaper. But now film budgets hit crazy amounts. Anyway, the state used to allocate significant funds for filming during the Soviet times. It is necessary to make more films and not to hope that every film will be a masterpiece."

"It is difficult to predict this in advance..."

"Absolutely. Even the great masters of the art were unsuccessful sometimes. There is a popular saying, Picasso's Mistake, which means that a picture that one can view as unworthy of Picasso may be a masterpiece for another artist. The same is true for motion pictures."

"You mentioned Babek and Nizami. Which heroes of our time would you like to dedicate your film to?"

"Anyone who stands strong in this life. Reality is harsh and we were allowed to live in an unknown world, where we must survive. He was forcibly taken from a clear Soviet period, where everything was in order, and thrown into the ocean of surprises where he must swim and stay afloat to survive. Believe me, this is not an easy task for everyone. It is not only about survival. At the same time, it's about keeping human qualities intact. It is difficult in the current reality... very difficult (lighting another cigarette). Every day dictates its own rules and shows itself from a completely new side. There is no one to blame. These are trends, as the society is developing so rapidly."

"In your film Once In A Southern City you showed contradictions between the new and the old, obsolete customs, different views on contemporary reality.We can see the same images today. Perhaps it's useless to call the ongoing a struggle. This is just a reality of our life..."

"I do not think that the film should be considered from such a pragmatic point of view. The critics used to tell me the same at that time too. In reality, this is just a part of our life that I knew and tried to show. I told about my neighbourhood and the people living there. There is no struggle, and, to be honest, my goal was not to show the contradictions between the new and the old. This is just a story about some decent people with their own attitude to the surrounding reality and to each other.

"All my films, in which it was necessary to show modern Baku, have been made on Mirza Fatali Akhundov Street, where I lived. There still live people who remember me as a child. Everything was so close to me, familiar and dear to me... Development is a good thing. I hope Baku will find its new face, but it will remain all the same for us."

"Religious fanaticism and the fight against women's rights was a popular topic in the 1920s. Did we manage to overcome these problems today?"

"No need to treat this very strictly, because there is a concept of mentality - there are traditions, a historically determined lifestyle, and so it’s wrong to judge. What we watch on TV or watch in the West is fundamentally unacceptable for us. We have a completely different attitude towards women, children, elders, and this is our difference. And this is the best that we can be proud of, that we can save and pass on from generation to generation. After all, the blood of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers flows in us. Therefore, I am rather serious on this issue."

"On the issue of generations. What role in your creative life played your father, the famous composer Tofig Guliyev?"

"He did not play any role in my creative life at all! I was not going to be a musician."

"What about your personal development?"

"None either. I did not see him much, as I was raised by my grandmother. He lived in Moscow, I lived in Baku. Then I moved to Russia, and he moved to Baku. We did not maintain close contacts with each other."

"Your daughter tried herself as a screenwriter..."

"She wrote a couple of scripts when she was a college student at the Faculty of Philology. She lives very far away. I thought she had some writing skills and wanted to help her prove herself, but for her it was just a passing hobby."

"Fair Wind is one of your best films, which you made together with Czechoslovak filmmakers. What is your impression about working with foreign colleagues?"

"It was the first and only film at that time created with one of the foreign film studios. We quickly found a common language with the Czech studio Barrandov. They spent a long time in Baku and left with tears in their eyes. Here they discovered a completely different, new world, new traditions and way of life, which was radically different from what they were used to. They could not even imagine that a person from the street, upon learning that he was a guest, could be invited into the house, fed and given water free of charge. For these and other reasons, they did not want to leave our country at all. Then, I remember, in the Soviet Embassy in Prague Barrandov Studio wrote a letter of gratitude to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. After the events of 1968, when the troops of the Warsaw Pact, except Romania, entered Czechoslovakia and put an end to the reforms of the Prague spring, we were the first Soviet group visiting the country. It was a sensation for the Czechs. They saw completely different, very friendly people, as opposed to those they saw in 1968."

"Our hospitality to other nations is famous. We can see a growing number of tourists walking along the Nizami Street everyday..."

"Very good. For God's sake, let them know us and value our people. Let them know how warm and sincere our people is. Let them study our culture and literature. Believe me, this is a completely new world for them, which is why they are so drawn here."

"You also used to meet your friends Anar, Muslim Magomayev and many others on the Nizami Street. Who do you see today and where?"

"(Laughs) We have a different age for such walks. We meet at home and not so often, to be honest. (Thinking) My generation is busy with holding anniversary ceremonies, and our duty is to attend these important events. So we meet occasionally..."

"Which would be your film about if you were offered to make one today?"

"Well, there are plenty of them... I would try to understand the existing reality, the things that happen with our families and friends, why all people changed so suddenly... In fact, people do not change, but rather open their hidden sides under the influence of circumstances. That is how we understand the essence of a man. People simply cannot change in one day. It means that he was not quite honest, noble and sincere person inside. So, he was deceiving the people around him. But it's not possible to lie to people infinitely, as everything becomes apparent one day."

"You once said that fate is an important factor of our life. What about your life?""

"I am truly a happy person! I have done my favourite job all my life. I have been surrounded by people who loved me. They are dear to me too. I continue to appreciate and love them. There is a spiritual affinity between me and them. Yes, over time we can see less friends around us. They leave us somehow for good. Of course, it is very difficult internally to part with people whom you have trusted for a long time, believed and suddenly see them gone... But I still have people around me whom I trust. I am grateful to them for every moment I felt their presence throughout my life. They helped me to overcome part of the problems on my life path. It is important not to feel lonely. I was deeply impressed by the title of Hans Fallada's novel Every Man Dies Alone. Just think about it… It has a deep meaning, expressing the life and essence of a man. The most difficult thing for any person is feeling lonely. Perhaps that is why loneliness has always been considered an unbearable punishment. The worst punishment in any prison is a solitary cell. In the past, the British were sent to lonely islands, no matter how beautiful the islands looked, and left there in complete seclusion. This beauty is worthless when there is no one around, isn't it?"

"Once in a lifetime, regardless of age, any person often say I wish I could..."

"Yes. There were circumstances that did not always depend on me. My choice, my decisions forced me to do what I did and nothing else. This happens to everyone. Sometimes a person becomes a bad guy under difficult circumstances. I cannot say that my life was full of unclouded happiness. I lived as others did. We learn to distinguish the good from the bad. I think I went through a good school of life, and most importantly, I was not alone."