“Bloody January” film screened in Sao Paulo

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

The 39th Mostra International Film Festival is being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil from October 22 to November 4.

For two weeks, about 600 films from several countries will be exhibited at the festival.

The Azerbaijani film “Bloody January,” dedicated to the one of the most tragic events in the history of Azerbaijan – January 20 – directed by Vahid Mustafayev, was also featured at the festival.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Brazil Elnur Sultanov attended the presentation of the film on October 23, as part of his working visit to Sao Paulo.

He addressed the event saying that the film was presented in Latin America for the first time. He also gave detailed information about this tragic event.

Noting that January 20 became a heroic page in the history of Azerbaijan, Sultanov said that the film will familiarize the Brazilian audience with the struggle that the Azerbaijani people experienced for independence.

He added that the people of Azerbaijan commemorate the victims every year, laying fresh flowers at a memorial at the Alley of Martyrs on January 20.

During the festival, the film was awarded a diploma and festival organizers presented the diploma to Kamran Gasimov, a representative from the national channel ANS.

On the night of January 19, 1990, the Soviet Army started hostilities against Azerbaijan, without declaring an emergency situation. As a result of the crime, 132 people were killed, 612 people injured and 841 people illegally arrested. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed; the state and citizens suffered huge material damage.

The tragic event marked a turning point in the history of Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union and revealed the strong determination of the people to build their own independent country.