Film by Azerbaijani director honored at Vienna festival

The documentary "My Kith and Kin" by Azerbaijani film director Rodion Ismailov, a film about the journey of a child through her home country, received an honorable mention at the LET'S CEE Film Festival held in Vienna on September 13-21.

The annual LET'S CEE Film Festival features exclusively high-quality productions from Central and Eastern Europe, including the Caucasus region and Turkey.

The festival's program includes a selection of the best current feature films and documentaries as well as promising short films, all of which take part in the festival's film competitions.

The event aims to advance the international level of acceptance and distribution of Central and Eastern European films.

Moreover, the objectives include promoting promising talent from Central and Eastern Europe and Austria, making a significant positive contribution to a modern and exemplary understanding of intercultural dialogue, both on a national and international level.

The film was also included in the competition program of the international film festival "Filmfest Eberswalde" to be held in Eberswalde, Germany on October 5-12, Ismailov told Azernews earlier.

Moreover, the documentary is participating in the competitive program of the international film festival of documentary drama in Saratov, Russia, on September 11-17.

The storyline of "My Kith and Kin" is based on the first visit by lead character Lolita to Azerbaijan. Lolita personifies two cultures, as her mother is Russian and her father is Azerbaijani.

This delicate and compelling story describes a ten-year-old girl who comes to Azerbaijan for the first time to be acquainted with her father's relatives. Lolita aspires to learn about the culture and traditions of her Azerbaijani family members.

The 63-minute long film of the DS FILM Production Center was made with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Russia in the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan. Camera operator of the film is Mikhail Gorobchuk, music was composed by Vladimir Kuptsov, and the producers are Rodion Ismailov and Svetlana Dalskaya.

The film won "The best anthropologic film" award at the eighth Open Russian Anthropological Film Festival (RAFF) in April and was nominated for "Best Documentary" at the eleventh Almaty International Film Festival "Shaken's Stars".

The film was also shown at the international documentary film festival "Visions du Réel" ("The images of reality") in Nyon, Switzerland, in April.