Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 19, 2020
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| Riza Siyami, film director |
Riza Siyami had previously expressed that it would be sufficient to produce two Turkish-language films per year in Iranian Azerbaijan. However, speaking to Voice of America, the director emphasizes that the situation has now changed. According to him, "the progress over these four years has been faster and stronger than we expected."
Siyami says, "At that time, looking at the situation, I thought that even making two films a year would be very difficult, and it would be good if we could manage two films. But over these four years, the progress has been faster and stronger than we expected. Now, more than two films have been made, and two of them have been accepted into the festival."
The Ark brothers' Dəri won the Crystal Simorgh award in the "Art and Experiment" section of the 38th International Fajr Festival. The festival's Best Film Music Award was also given to Bamdad Afshar, who composed the music for Dəri.
Atabay, shot in the city of Khoy in Western Azerbaijan, attracted the attention of the Iranian media and film lovers, especially after the heated debate at the film's press conference, thanks to the director and producer, the famous Niki Karimi.
According to Riza Siyami, "The fact that these two films have gone to the festival, become subjects of debate, and won awards will accelerate and strengthen the progress of Turkish-language films. As far as I know, at least six or seven films are planned for next year. They are at various stages. Some are writing scripts, some are raising funds, and some have even completed shooting. With this pace, we are moving towards six or seven films."
The director also provides detailed information about the Turkish-language films made in Iranian Azerbaijan since the 1990s, including cinema, television films, TV series, and short films:
"Currently, 90% of the short films made by young filmmakers in the Azerbaijani regions are in Turkish. The number of Persian films has significantly decreased. Perhaps more than 50 short films are made in Turkish every year. If even 10% of this generation succeeds in entering professional cinema and brings that mindset with them—meaning they don’t drop out midway, which I believe most of them will continue—then in four or five years, it could be possible to make 20-30 films a year."
During the press conference at the Fajr Film Festival, one journalist pointed out that the atmosphere in Atabay resembled that of Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s films. Director Niki Karimi and screenwriter Hadi Hijazifer did not deny this similarity. Hadi Hijazifer commented, "There is a truth regarding Turkish literature. Geographically, there is a shared spirit. The mythological understanding is very similar. There are many common elements in language richness and in the legends."
Riza Siyami believes that "the Turkish spirit and identity in the films made in Iranian Azerbaijan should be reflected in our films not as a result of influence from Turkish films but through our directors' attention to our culture, literature, mythology, and music. It should come from their understanding of this spirit."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Rejissor Rza Siyami: İranda türkcə film sahəsində sürətli bir irəliləyiş var