The award ceremony for the winners of the Film Festival was held by the Council on State Support to Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan jointly with the Union of Cinematographers of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Baku on November 24.
According to the press service of the Union of Cinematographers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Jamil Guliyev, the first secretary of the authority, Honored Art Worker made a speech at the event and gave information about the festival.
It was noted that more than 100 films that have been screened in 2008-2016 with the support of the Council participated in the festival. The jury consisting of professional cinematographers selected the winners of the first, second and third places as well as the Council`s special prize. J.Guliyev noted that the geography of film festivals in our country has been expanding in recent years, and underlined that some government agencies also support film festivals.
J.Guliyev said: “Films presented to this festival were selected by professional jury of the Union of Cinematographers. Films covering various aspects of our lives have competed in that festival. Most of the films in the festival which up to hundred films participated, are documentaries. These films were shot by great effort. We tried to appreciate the people who had been involved in the filmmaking.”
Azay Guliyev, the Chairman of the Council on State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations under the President of Azerbaijan, spoke about the importance of the festival. It was noted that the festival was organized with financial support of the Council to present the works done by NGOs for promoting the national interests of our country, both in the country and international arena, as well as for the development of various spheres of public life. For this purpose, a jury consisting of professionals was formed by the Council. J.Guliyev said that since the establishment of the authority that he governs, he has been implementing a number of projects aimed at protecting our national interests and settlement of social problems that concern our society, and supported the works done in this direction.
“When we decided to hold the festival, we thought that we would be able to bring such films to the festival. It is known that a number of films shot by NGOs with the support of the Council participated in the festival. The purpose is to hold a film festival, as well as create a healthy competition among NGOs. Such festivals should always keep their topicality. It is really praiseworthy to create great films with little money,” A.Guliyev said.
According to the Chairman of the Council, 100 films participated in the festival were made in our country. Up to 15 of them were awarded with various diplomas and awards. Addressing to the heads of NGOs with certain recommendations, the Chairman of the Council said: “We are always looking for good quality works. After announcing the festival, we created a commission within the Council to choose the best works. I recommend that NGOs dealing with this issue pay attention to the compliance of film clips with television standards.”
Thanking the jury, J.Guliyev spoke about the works done by the Union of Cinematographers and congratulated the winners.
Then the names of winning films were announced. The film named “The Chords of 25 Years” was awarded the special prize of the festival. The film named “I want to fly" won the first place, “Father of the soldier” the second, and “The Sinful and Innocent” the third. The other 11 films were presented the diplomas of the festival.
