"CAMERA, LIGHTS, ACTION!"

On 28 December 1895 the brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiere demonstrated short films which they had shot on an apparatus they had invented in the "Grand Cafe" on Boulevard des Capucines in Paris. That day marked the beginning of the history of world cinema.

The pre-Soviet period

Azerbaijan soon became familiar with this new art form. In Baku, which had become famous by the end of the 19th century for its "black gold", drawing capitalists from all over the world seeking infinite riches, it was not just economic, but cultural standards that increased every day. People very soon got to know about the French invention of the cinematograph and the first film show took place in Baku on 8 January 1898. On 21 July the same year Vasil Vyatsikin's circus theatre showed the films "A Public Stroll in a City Garden", "Steamship Leaving Port", "Caucasus and Mercury society", "Market Street at Dawn" and "A Train Entering a Railway Station". A short time later, on 2 August, a separate programme of documentary films was shown: "Fire at an Oil Gusher in Bibiheybat", "Oil Gusher in Balaxani", "Caucasian Dance" and the sketch "Yeh, You're Busted". These films were made by the French publisher and photographer Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Mishon, who was born and bred in Russia and lived for over 25 years in Baku.

At the instigation of the Azerbaijani State Film Foundation, the films 'Fire at an Oil Gusher in Bibiheybat" and "Oil Gusher at Balaxani" were brought from the French film archives, and, by a decree of Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev of 18 December 2000, 2 August was declared Azerbaijani Cinema Day. It was there that the work of the Frenchman, who had not even dreamed of laying the foundations of the art of the cinema in Azerbaijan, ended.

In 1915, the Pirone brothers founded the "Film" joint-stock company in Baku. The same year "Film" invited the director Boris Svetlov and cameraman Grigoriy Lemberg to Baku from St. Petersburg to shoot the first Azerbaijani feature film "In the Realm of Oil and Millions" from the novel of the same name by Ibrahim bay Musabayov. The film told the story of 20th century Baku, the life of the local millionaires and workers and was released in May 1916. The role of Lutfali bay was played by Huseyn Arablinski. Although he never starred in another film, his name has gone down in the history of Azerbaijani cinema as Azerbaijan's first film actor. The celebrated tar player Qurban Primov and the great singer Cabbar Qaryagdi also starred in the film. 

In Soviet times the history of the cinema in Azerbaijan goes back to 14 May 1916, when the first Azerbaijani feature film "In the Realm of Oil and Millions" was shown. Later Boris Svetlov and Grigoriy Lemberg also made the full-length feature films "The Wife" and "A New-Style Old Story". They continued to make films in Azerbaijan until 1918 and then they left the republic. The first Azerbaijani film comedy "Arshin mal alan" ("The Cloth Peddler"), from the operetta of the same name by Uzeyir Hacibayov, was made in Baku in 1916.

The Azerbaijani Democratic Republic was proclaimed in May 1918. Having established diplomatic, economic and cultural relations with foreign countries, the national government also focused its attention on the development of the cinema. That same year the "Council of Cinema and Theatre Workers" was formed in Baku and the full-length feature film "Celebration" was shown on 28 May 1919 to mark the anniversary of Azerbaijani independence day. 

Soviet period

Azerbaijan was occupied by the Bolsheviks in April 1920. On 4 July, Nariman Narimanov, chairman of the Revolutionary Committee, signed a decree on the nationalization of cinema houses. Newsreels, such as "The Parade of the XI Red Army in Baku", "The First Congress of Peoples of the East in Baku", "The Funeral of the 26 Baku Commissars", "Commanders of the XI Red Army visit the Highlanders", "Subbotnik in Petrov Square" and "The First Anniversary of Soviet Azerbaijan", which are regarded as the pioneer productions of Azerbaijani Soviet cinema, were made. The main subjects of the films, which were made in the first years of Soviet rule and attached great importance to propaganda work, were the revolution, the struggle against ignorance and the equality of women.

The Azerbaijani Photo and Film Administration (AFKU) was founded in 1923. The "Tayyara", "Edison", "Million", "Ladya" and "Promyslovik" cinemas opened in Baku under the AFKU. The official opening of the first State film studio took place in Baku on 28 April of the same year.

The first film in Soviet Azerbaijan - "The Owl" - was made in 1924 by director G. Kravchenko and cameraman V. Lemke. That same year Lemke and director V. Vallyuzek made "Qiz Qalasi" ("The Maiden Tower"). A. Litvinov put out three films in 1924-1926, and in 1925 he shot Azerbaijan's first detective film "In Retribution".

After Azerbaijan became Soviet, film-makers from Russia were sent to Baku. In 1925 experts arriving from Moscow and Leningrad took a general course on cinematography at the studio under the AFKU. Later the AFKU was changed to "Azgoskino" ([Azeri state cinema]1926-1930) and then to "Azerkino" (1930-1933), "Azfilm" (1933), "AzGosKinoFilm" (1934), "Azerfilm" (1935-1940) and "Baku Studios" (1941-1959). And, finally, the "C. Cabbarli Azarbaycanfilm" studio was set up in 1961.

In 1925 Abbas Mirza Sarifzada made the film "Bismillah" ["In the Name of God"], thus becoming Azerbaijan's first film director. The film was shown on 24 April 1926 in Moscow.

A.M. Sarifzada brought "Haci Qara" by Azerbaijan's first screenwriter, Cafar Cabbarli, to the screen in 1928. The company, which in 1932 made "Directive Bow", was made up of local film-makers director Agarza Quliyev and cameramen Asgar Ismayilov and Mirza Mustafayev. In the film "Golden Bush", made in 1930 by director Bekbolat Askarov, Azerbaijan's first female director, Qamar Salamzada, was director's assistant.

The sound cinema

The first sound picture in the history of Azerbaijani cinematography - the comedy "On the Coast of the Blue Sea" - was made in 1935 by "Azerfilm" in conjunction with "Mezhrabpomfilm". The film was released in 1936. The sound picture era had begun in Azerbaijan and over 10 sound pictures were made in 1936-1941.

In 1936 the oilworker Piri Nuriyev and the cotton-grower Qudrat Samadov delivered a speech in a film-almanac by the directors V. Pumpyanskiy and V. Yeremeyev, "Honorary Azerbaijan". This was the first synchronized film in Azerbaijan. Samad Mardanov, the second director of the film "On the Coast of the Blue Sea", studied at the All-union State Institute of Cinematography in the workshop of the great director, Sergey Eisenstein. He was the first Azerbaijani director with a higher education. His first independently made film, "The Peasants", was released in 1939. The films "Latif", "Ismat", "Almaz", "New Horizon", "Baku People", and others, which were devoted to the daily lives of the Azerbaijani people and the subject of revolutionary history, were made in the 1930s.  

The foundations of Azerbaijani cartoon films were also laid down at this time. This was the genre of the 1933 education film, "Crack". And in 1935 the animated film "Abbas' Bad Luck' was made, based on stories from Azerbaijani folk tales.

Sound was added to films in the Azeri language for the first time in 1937. The film "Chapayev" was dubbed the same year. The rigid rules imposed by the country's ruler, Stalin, also influenced the making of cartoon films. He personally vetted every film and issued instructions. Because of that two full-length feature films - "Lights" and "Fatali Xan" - were banned in Azerbaijan.

The start of World War II saw a slump in film production. It was mainly newsreels and magazines that were made. The documentaries "Guarding the southern borders", "For the Motherland", "Songs and Poetry", "We are Defending Baku", "The Atrocities of the Germans in the North Caucasus", "Baku Fights On", "The Girl Surgeon", "General Hazi Aslanov" and a whole number of others were made during the war years. Azerbaijani cameramen S. Badalov, C. Mammadov, M. Mustafayev, A. Hasanov, and others worked at the front line. The films they made are used in newsreels today. In 1945 the director Rza Tahmasib made the film "Arshin Mal Alan" ["The Cloth Peddler"] from the opera of the same name by Uzeyir Hacibayov. The film was a success not only in the USSR, but also in many other countries.  In 1946 the directors R. Tahmasib and N. Leshchenko, the composer U. Hacibayov and the actors R. Behbudov, L. Badirbayli, A. Huseynzada, M. Kalantarli and L. Abdullayev were awarded USSR State Prizes for this film. "Arshin Mal Alan" was brought to the screen for the third time - this time in colour - in 1965.  

The new era

A new stage in the development of the Azerbaijani cinema began in 1950. The feature films "The Meeting", "Baxtiyar", "Black Stones", "Under the Broiling Sun", "Her Big Heart", "Stepmother", and others, and the documentary films "The Story of the Caspian Oilmen", "The Conquering Sea", etc, reflected the life and work of people from many different walks of life. There was an increasing trend towards making musical comedies. Apart from "The Meeting" and "Baxtiyar", "Romeo is my Friend", "Where is Ahmad?", "Ulduz", "Mother-in-law", and others were also made. The film "Either this or that" was made for the first time in colour in 1956.  

A number of documentary, cartoon and feature films were also made for Azerbaijani television. "Samad Vurgun" (1958) was the first documentary, "Aygun" (1960) the first feature and "Talking Lights" (1965) the first animated film made for television. The "Ekran" Creative Association was organized in 1968 and renamed the "Azerbaijantelefim" CA in 1973. The films "The Telephone Girl", "Invincible Battalion", "Why are you Silent?" "26 Baku Commissars" and others were made in the 1960s. New ideas and opinions began to be considered in the Azerbaijani cinema at the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s. There was much heated discussion, in particular, around Eldar Quliyev's film "In a Southern City".

The film "Koroglu", which was made in 1960 by the director Hasan Seyidbayli, was the first colour wide-screen picture in the history of the Azerbaijani cinema. After the re-establishment of the animated film workshop at the film studio in 1968, the cartoons "Cirtdan", "Fitna", "The Son of Jackal", "Why Does the Cloud Cry?", "My Saz", "The Shah and the Servant", "An Engagement Ceremony in Forest", and others were made. The films "Our Teacher Cabis", "The Sound of the Pipe", "Shared Bread", "I Loved you more than Life" and "On Distant Shores", based on stories of the Second World War, were splendid examples of Azerbaijani cinematic art.

Interesting films for children have been made over the years, including "The Secret of one Tower", "The Magic Robe", "Qarib in the Land of the Genies", "The Lion Left Home", "I Compose a Song", "The Music Teacher", "Asif, Vasif and Agasif" and "The Window". Interesting films on the subjects of history and the revolution were made between 1960 and 1980, including "The Stars do not Fade", "My Seven Sons", "The Last Pass", "Fair Wind", "Nasimi", "Qatir Mammad", "Dada Qorqud", "Babak", "Nizami", "Saddle the Horses", "Window of Sorrow" and "Wait for the Signal from the Sea".

The satirical film magazine "Mozalan", the first issue of which was shown in 1971, was created in 1970 at the C. Cabbarli "Azarbaycanfilm" studio. This magazine went on to provide audiences with a lot of interesting stories. The fight against corruption and the policy of perestroika and glasnost, which were carried out in the USSR at the end of 1970 - beginning of 1980, were reflected in the films "The Investigation", "I Want to Understand", "Her Unhappy Love" and "Devil Under the Windshield". Starting from the 1980s films started to be made in Azerbaijan reflecting the weakening of Soviet power in the republic - "Behind Closed Doors", "An Alien Life", "Sabotage", "Endless Night", "Anecdote", and others. The first Azerbaijani science-fiction feature film "The Link" was made in 1989. The Azerbaijani cinema, which went through a period of transition in the 1990s following the collapse of the USSR, experienced great financial problems and the number of films being made fell sharply. The films "Lamentation", "Guy on a White Horse", "A Strange Time", "We Will Return", "The Blond Bride", "The Dumb Plane-tree" and "The Future is Past" were devoted to the Karabakh war and the distress it has caused.

Today the Azerbaijani film studio is at a new stage of its development. The studio, the state and private channels are making new feature, television and documentary films. Azerbaijani cinema audiences await more fine works from our film makers, bringing to the world public the historic things that are happening in our country and its ancient culture.