(MENAFN- AzerNews)
The third edition of the "Salam International Youth Film
Festival" has wrapped up, Azernews reports.
The festival was held under the auspices of Narimanfilm Film
Company, with the support of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry and
PASHA Holding as the general sponsor.
The festival's opening ceremony featured speeches by Art
Director of the Festival Leyla Dostalizade, Francesco Bancini
(Director of the European Azerbaijan School hosting this year's
festival), Gadir Khalilov (Executive Director of the Youth Fund of
the Republic of Azerbaijan and Festival Partner), Rovena Martinez
Tuzcuoglu (Founder of the Universal Kids Film Festival in Istanbul,
USA). Following the last remarks from Nurit Greenger, President of
the Azerbaijan Cultural Foundation, the festival was officially
declared open by Nariman Mammadov (Founder of "Salam" IYFF).
About 600 teenagers from 13 countries participated in the
festival as jurors. Over the course of four days, they viewed films
from different countries that had won prizes at international
festivals over the past two years.
The teenagers voted to determine the winners. They also attended
master classes and participated in the "Backstage documentary"
workshop led by Iro Riga (Greece), president of Aenaon SCE and
coordinator of "Zizanio News" at the Olympia Festival. As 2024 is a
year of "Solidarity for a Green World", this year's Cinemarathon
workshop featuring mentors Gurban Bunyadov, Eldar Ismayilov, Orkhan
Agazade, Leylakhanim Ganbarova, and Mehdi Abidov who guided
participants in creating short videos on the theme of "Ecology and
Environmental Protection." Additionally, after a screening of
director Ilgar Najaf's 2005 feature film "Buta" in the festival's
"Retrospective" program, children had the opportunity to meet the
film's actors: People's Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rafiq
Azimov, Honored Artist Elnur Karimov, and actress Arzu Azimova, and
asked them questions.
Throughout the third edition of "Salam" IYFF, participants
discussed the films, met with directors and actors, took part in
excursions and entertainment programs, attended interactive
workshops, and screened short films during the Cinemarathon,
leaving a positive impression. At the closing ceremony, Art
Director Leyla Dostalizade expressed gratitude to sponsors,
volunteers, guests, and Cinemarathon mentors. Nargiz Bagirzade, who
is the Program Director, announced the winners selected by the
youth jury, and Nariman Mammadov presented awards. The feature film
"Listen" (Greece, 2022, dir. Maria Douza) received the "Best
Feature Film" award, while "Alfons Jitterbit - class trip chaos!"
(Germany, 2022, dir. Mark Schlichter) was honored with the "Special
Jury Award." The "Retrospective" feature film "Birds of Passage"
(Belgium, France, 2015, dir. Oliver Ringer) received the "Special
Festival Award" established by the organizers of "Salam" IYFF.
Salam IYFF aims to foster friendly relations among Azerbaijani
teenagers and their peers from other countries, promote cultural
exchange, educate youth in universal moral values, and cultivate
artistic appreciation through the screening of high-quality feature
films at the festival.
Media partners of the event are Azernews, Trend, Day,
and Milli.
----
Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr
MENAFN04092024000195011045ID1108635128
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.