Bloody January film presented in Baku

/AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Baku Film studio shot “Bloody January”, a film dedicated to the 25th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in the history of Azerbaijan – January 20.

To this end, the creative team of the film held a press conference on December 2. The event was attended by writer and director of the film Vahid Mustafayev, Vice-president Seyfulla Mustafayev, film operator Afshin Alizada (Iran), as well as the film’s stars Nebahat Chehre (Turkey), Lane Davies (U.S.) and Elena Shetinka (Azerbaijan).

Seyfulla Mustafayev said the film is based on the real events of January 20, 1990 inscribed in the history of Azerbaijan. He stressed that the people must remember this date, as a strong page in the struggle for freedom and always keep the martyrs in their memories.

Giving information about the film, “Bloody January’s” director said that some international art teams also took part in the project.

Vahid Mustafayev noted that this film is devoted to all the peoples who struggled for their independence. “In this film, I tried to show the outlook of all the people of the time: from heroes to the butchers, the fate of different people and families whose lives changed dramatically after these events,” he said.

Mustafayev believes that the nation should know its history and heroes. “We want to show that during these events, there were not only victims, but also real heroes and ordinary people, who made special fuel mixture to set fire the enemy tanks. They resisted with weapons in their hands against the professional soldiers,” Mustafayev noted. “That is why I wish this tragedy becomes a heroic page in the history as the struggle for independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.”

Afshin Alizada, in turn, said that working with Vahid Mustafayev was both difficult and interesting. “He pays attention to the smallest nuances on the set, that the film was shot at the highest professional level,” he stated.

Famous Turkish actress Nebahat, who played a mother of two children in the film, said she was deeply touched by the emotional story and immediately agreed to take part in the project. “Terrible terrorism act carried out by the Soviet army against the Azerbaijani people will forever remain as a black page in the history of civilization, as one of the most serious crime against humanity,” she noted.

They were too young, said Davies. “I was affected a lot by the age of people who died during this tragedy,” she said. “I have two sons, who are 20 and 24 year old.”

Shetinkina, for her turn was very happy to take part at this shooting. “My heroine wants to be brave, but at the same time not to lose her femininity. The film will undoubtedly be one of the most vivid pages in my creative life,” she stated.

The film will be translated into English, Russian and other languages. It will also be presented at international festivals.

On the night of 19 to 20 January, 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 a huge material damage.