"WE'VE GOT A LOT TO DO!"

Director Shamil Aliyev has had a successful creative career. He is the author of films and documentaries, which won awards at numerous international film festivals. This year he heads the commission for nomination of Azerbaijani films for the American Academy Award. Despite his personal achievements and awards, Shamil Aliyev worries about the future of the national film industry. He believes that the Azerbaijani cinema has everything for success.

"You cannot complain about your cinematographic career considering your awards and international recognition. Yet, the people involved in art claim that cinema in Azerbaijan is not an easy thing. How could you become a successful film director in such an ambiguous situation?"

"I have to agree with those people. There is some truth in it. I was lucky enough to have my films on the long list of the Oscar contenders from Azerbaijan twice. It was also the first time we presented a documentary for nomination, when everyone was accustomed to see feature films there. Last year my documentary The Creators was included in the list of the Oscar contenders. Now for the sad part. I made my last feature film, Çölçü, back in 2012. No more films after that, for a long time. Then I made the documentary The Architect in 2018, and The Creators in 2020. So let's do the math: for nine years I didn't film anything, I couldn't move my project forward."

"Why?"

"Because of the previous staff of the Ministry of Culture. It only seems that it is free of corruption. But it had a direct and natural impact on our activities. In 2014, I applied to the ministry to make a full-length feature film Xalı (Carpet) on one of the priority subjects for Azerbaijan. We all remember that thanks to the efforts of our First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, the Azerbaijani carpet was approved by UNESCO as a national material and cultural heritage. There were many opponents, but she has managed to do it! But there was no film about such an important topic—the Azerbaijani carpet. It was exactly the project that had to be implemented. Because it would contribute to the prestige of Azerbaijan. The situation reached a critical point, and three of our films almost ended up on the shelf."

"How can you explain the situation?"

"I don't know, but it could be anything from unprofessionalism to... So, going back to what you just said, yes, it was indeed a difficult situation."

"Yet, you still managed to submit your works to international film festivals."

"Yes, I can't complain. But I could not film Xalı. Before that, there was the project Arxaik motivlər (Archaic Motives), later renamed Qız Qalası (Maiden Tower). It was also supposed to be filmed, but then it was cancelled. Thank God that the ministry now has a new staff. There is now the Azerbaijan Cinema Agency. I sincerely hope that the process will move forward. Either way, we have finally applied for Xalı, and there is support, and not only from the Ministry of Culture.

"In 2009, I made a documentary Azərbaycan xalçası (Azerbaijani Carpet) ordered by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Mehriban Aliyeva personally supervised the project, which was very successful. Since she was advocating the Azerbaijani carpet, our videofilm accompanied her statements in the background. The documentary was presented in many film festivals and even included in the Short Film Corner list in Cannes."

"What about a full-length film?"

"In 2012, I filmed Çölçü. It was also a success: Çölçü has so far been in more than 150 film festivals and has received about a hundred awards and prizes. Twice it was presented under the category A, or Best Film: in Tallinn (Dark Nights) and in Cairo. Çölçü was one of the 12 films presented in Cairo. In 2014, the script of Xalı was ready, but we have not been able to start shooting for eight years. Both Xalı and Qız Qalası are full-length feature film projects. That's why we are doing our best to materialise them."

"What is easier to realise—your own project or the ordered one?"

"There are three categories of projects in the newly established cinema agency: state order, commercial order and work of art. We have submitted our script to a competition. If we pass it, we can expect the Ministry of Culture to provide some funding for the production. We have to find the rest of the money on our own. The budget is about ₼1 million, and there are already some indicators that make us count on concrete assistance."

"Is it difficult to get funding for a film project? I mean is it incredibly difficult, very difficult or just difficult?"

"It is very difficult, and I will explain you why. It is not very difficult to get funding for a commercial project worth ₼100-120K. Let's be frank, such projects do not have any special depth and meaningfulness, they have purely entertainment content. They will eventually pay off and even earn the film-makers something. It is much difficult to secure funding for works of art based on cultural and historical themes. A lot depends on the film environment. You have to understand that our film industry has not been fully established yet. Azerbaijanfilm was once part of the Soviet film industry, but it collapsed. Russia has somehow managed to preserve the foundations they had after the collapse of the USSR. We had to create everything anew. Yes, we tried, but the film industry is a very broad spectrum of production. Usually, a developed film industry includes absolutely all genres of cinema. Thank God, we now have our lands back. And now it is time to start working, creating, and thinking ahead. Our new minister of culture, Adil Kerimli, started with important and necessary things in culture and cinematography."

"Do we need creative unions of film-makers in the new conditions?"

"If done properly, yes, we do. These are certainly outdated models, but with the right approach, if they are reoriented to support creative projects, meetings, debates, discussions of new ideas, conferences and masterclasses, such unions are even useful. The world is changing, and it is not about changing the shell of the industry only. We have two unions, which are planned to be united into a single one. But there are also plans to reform their inner content, i.e., the way of thinking. Independent Azerbaijan needs assistance, including for creative unions, to develop our cinema industry, instead of playing along with alien interests. We've got a lot of work to do!"

"As to the classification of projects at the cinema agency. Is it possible that a project conceived to be a commercial one ends up being a work of art?"

"Impossible!"

"Why? Something is wrong with the choice of theme?"

"No, approaches are different. There is no such thing as a good or bad theme! I would rephrase your question: is it possible to get commercial success by filming a work of art or making a film under a government contract. It is possible. But non-commercial projects have different requirements, and they don't have to pay off. This category serves the interests of the state, with completely different goals. The point is that the creators of a commercial product do not set themselves such tasks."

"Which ones?"

"They don't think about creating a work of art."

"Or at least a professionally-made piece of work..."

"High professionalism should be a prerequisite in all three cases, this is not even up for discussion. This requires human resources and a whole industry. Do you known how many Azerbaijani films are distributed now? No more than 5%. Recently, though, there have been more, but it is still not enough . And one of the requirements for the industry is distribution. There should be 55% domestic cinema, and the remaining 45% should be foreign.

"If we pass a law under which the quota of screened foreign films would be no more than 15%, I mean if we artificially create such a barrier, cinemas will simply not survive. We also have problems with dubbing the films. Many films are dubbed in Russian. Making subtitles in Azerbaijani is not a solution. After all, we go to cinema to watch films, not to read subtitles?

"Previously, dubbing foreign films in Azerbaijani was at a high level. Let me tell you a story then. There was a Soviet film made a long time ago, King Lear based on Shakespeare and directed by Grigory Kozintsev. The main character played by Yuri Jarvet was voiced by Zinovy Gerdt. In Azerbaijan, this character was voiced by the late Samandar Rzayev. Genius! You can hardly find such actors even on a global scale. Do you know what his age was when he voiced King Lear? 26! The then dubbing director of Azerbaijanfilm was Alisattar Atakishiyev, also a genius. So one day he sent his assistant to Adil Iskanderov, then director of the studio, to allow Rzayev to dub King Lear. It took a whole month to persuade him to allow the 26-year-old actor to voice this iconic character. Finally Iskanderov gave in and requested a trial recording to test the young actor. I will not go into details of the story, but Rzayev took a very light-hearted approach to his test, when he came to the studio completely unprepared. He either lost his part or forgot it at home. Anyway, he was given the text right in the studio. He read it a couple of times and recorded his fragment right away, from the first take. Genius! At the All-Soviet festival of dubbing films held in Moscow, Samandar's work won the first place. Zinoviy Gerdt, who also took part in the festival, suggested at the time that the elderly actor who voiced King Lear in Azerbaijani had been preparing for his role for at least a year. He was told that Rzayev had been completely unprepared and recorded his part when he was only 26 years old. A self-made actor. With such traditions, it is necessary to create a dubbing school again, because we have very talented actors."

"Each time dictates its own themes. There were periods when people needed to be entertained or, on the contrary, puzzled by some ideas. After all, there is fashion, and there are also universal issues. What themes are in demand now? What should be the themes for new films, and what would you like to film yourself?"

"Azerbaijani artists took over a huge responsibility right after Azerbaijan gained its independence. In order to form new thinking, to realise the essence of this independence, can we make films in which the Azerbaijani society is shown in a distorted fashion? What will we get from this kind of approach? Disbelief in ourselves. After all, who will become a child called a fool ever since his childhood? We must create a truthful image of a nation that has talents, purposeful people, good humour, and great art. But unfortunately, there are directors who try to solve their personal problems through cinema."

"Do you think an artist should be detached?"

"No, absolutely not. But he should not use art to cure his complexes. He should not demonstrate his inferiority or take revenge on someone - parents, children - through his works. Especially at the expense of the state, under the guise of artistic freedom."

"Then what does time dictate?"

"Liberalism is forcefully planting, or imposing a system taking us away from our roots. This is taking place not only in our country, but all over the world. Under the guise of globalisation... By the way, this is what Çölçü is about. Every artist should have a clear understanding of what he wants to say to the audience. Eternal or momentary ideas or tasks wrapped into a particular piece of art. I don't deal with momentary matters, like what is relevant for a year or so maximum. Themes that nobody will be interested in after a year. Çölçü is still being screened at international festivals, because the theme presented there is eternal. For example, I was invited to take part at the prestigious Internationales Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg. The organisers of the event read somewhere that the film discussed the theme of globalisation and how acceptable it was for the world community. It is true that the events depicted in Çölçü take place in Azerbaijan. But its theme concerns me as well. As this process is taking place all over the world, it means it concerns us too. Moreover, globalisation is accompanied with great pressure, and there is no significant opposition against it. No nation can resist it. But it is also disastrous to follow along this process. Because any nation is doomed to become a biomass with implanted consumerist philosophy, if it does not realise its roots. This is how many nations lose their identity, their roots."

"Don't you think that the Soviet Union tried to unify the identity of many nations either?"

"That's why it collapsed in 1991. So, back to the festival in Germany. Advocates of globalisation learned about the basic message of my film and came to meet me right after the screening. You know these traditional meetings between the director and the audience. So I was asked why I was against globalisation. They claimed that it was thanks to globalisation that I was at the festival. I replied that they should not overestimate their role and influence. Yes, I am here, but as an Azerbaijani who is interested in the identity of his people. The film has an open ending, I don't give a final answer."

"Perhaps you'll agree that universal values are in fact the universal themes understood by people all over the world. You don't have to explain why different characters behave differently."

"Absolutely! For example, the great Swedish film director Ernst Bergman had a very complicated relationship with his father, who was a clergyman. And Bergman touched on this subject in each of his films, but not to take revenge on his father, but to try to sort things out. Confrontation between a priest and an artist is an eternal theme."

"What are some timeless themes that are still relevant today?"

"Well, social and family problems, for example. Or the post-war period. Yes, the war is over, but the echoes will be heard for a long time to come. It is a tragedy, and it affected many people."

"Can a great theme save a film made by a mediocre director?"

"No, of course not. He will spoil both the film and the theme. Take my Təsadüfi görüş (Accidental Encounter) with Fuad Poladov. It is a film with moral themes of love and homeland. It won the first prize in the US and was a real hit throughout Europe."

"What do you think of the television series?"

"It's a very important part of cinema. It should not be underestimated. Television series are filmed in a variety of genres all over the world. There is a very serious and responsible approach to the production. In Azerbaijan, this segment is underdeveloped. Take, for example, the themes of Russian TV series: mistery, historical events, wars, prominent personalities. All filmed at a good level, with the ideological background and professional production going hand in hand. There is big dramatic art and money behind any television series."

"Thank you for your time."