Baku presents "Last Letter" film - the Canakkale Battle

/By AzerNews -  Amina Nazarli/

Baku's premium class movie theater 28 Cinema hosted the presentation of the film "Last Letter" devoted to the 100th anniversary of the Canakkale Battle [Gallipoli Campaign] on April 15.

The event was attended by state officials, MPs and public figures.

Addressing the event, Ali Hasanov, Azerbaijani president’s assistant for public and political affairs started with reading out a message by President Ilham Aliyev.

“Battle of Canakkale is one of the glorious pages of heroism history of Turkish nation. This battle is the fight, life and death battle, resistance of Turkish nation and heroic Turkish soldiers against the allied invader forces and policy to annihilate the Turkish state,” Hasanov said.

“In Canakkale Turkish soldiers and other volunteers, including Azerbaijanis, in fact, demonstrated invincibility of the will of the Turkish people and saved the people and the state from annihilation”.

Ismail Alper Coskun, Turkish ambassador to the country, expressed his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for showing such keen attention to Turkey's history, saying that this is the evidence of the strong brotherhood which exists in between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The Gallipoli Campaign took place on the Gallipoli peninsula during the Ottoman Empire in between 1915 and 1916 by Entente countries, in order to capture the Turkish capital of Istanbul and open a sea route to Russia. The campaign was one of the greatest Ottoman victories during the war and a major Allied failure. In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nation's history: a final surge in the defense of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire crumbled.

Speaking about the bloody fights which happened at Canakkale, Coskun recalled the heroic events which took place over a hundred years ago. He said, “Turkish soldiers showed unprecedented courage in this battle. Azerbaijanis were nearby, fighting shoulder to shoulder, with them”.

Having emphasized that the two countries always stood together through history Coskun thanked all those who supported the film.

The scriptwriter and director of the film is Ozhan Eren.

Nesrin Cavadzade, the starring actress of Azerbaijani origin gave interesting information on the shooting process. The beautiful actress emphasized that she is proud the film has been presented in the city where she was born and grew up.

The scenario of the film has been written on the basis of letters written at the time by witnesses.

The film cast includes Tansel Ongel, Nesrin Cavadzade, Hussein Avni Danyal, Bulent Shakrak, Narmin Huseynova and Barbara Sotelsek, who narrate the story of a pilot, Salih Ekrem and a nurse, Nihal.

In the most unlucky days of the war they take under their guardianship a lonely child named Fuat. This child, nicknamed "Kichik Gazi Fuat" becomes the only witness of the great love between Salih and Nihal.