Nizami Cinema Center To Celebrate National Cinema Day

Nizami Cinema Center will celebrate Azerbaijan Cinema Day on August 2, Azernews reports.

The gala event, which marks the 126th anniversary of the Azerbaijani cinematography, will bring together public and cultural figures and film enthusiasts.

The ceremony will kick off with guests exploring the exhibition, which illustrates the history of the Azerbaijani cinema art.

By order of National Leader Heydar Aliyev dated December 18, 2000, August 2 was declared National Cinema Day, a professional holiday of cinema workers.

This day is commemorated annually with a range of events celebrating the rich history of Azerbaijani cinema.

Following the Lumiere brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895, Russian photographer and cameraman Alexandre Michon began filming motion pictures showcasing daily life in Baku.

The first silent short film of the Azerbaijani cinematography titled "You are caught", premiered in Baku in August 1898, marked the birth of Azerbaijani cinema.

At the beginning of the last century, foreign film companies such as Pathé, the Pirone Brothers Society, and Film opened their branches in Baku and began producing films.

In 1916, a short film called "In the Kingdom of Oil and Millions" was shot based on the novel of the same name by writer Ibrahimbek Musabayov, and in 1917, "The Cloth Peddler" was produced based on the operetta by Uzeyir Hajibayli.

After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan in 1923, the Azerbaijan Photo and Film Administration (APFA). The first State Film Factory started operating on April 28 of the same year. The first film shot here was the feature film "Maiden Tower", based on a folk legend.

Today, local film companies are producing dozens of films that have gained international acclaim. The film production industry in the country is rapidly expanding, making it possible for a multitude of filmmakers to express themselves in different ways.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr