Articles & Notes — December 3, 2011 at 6:22 pm On November 24th, the 5th ceremony of Asia Pacific Screen Awards has been held in Australia, and Azerbaijani film “Buta” has been awarded in the “Best children’s feature film” category. The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) promote and acclaim the cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the vast Asia-Pacific region. Established in 2007, the annual Awards are the region’s highest accolade in film. Winners are determined by an International Jury and films are judged on cinematic excellence and the way in which they attest to their cultural origins. An international cultural initiative of the Queensland State Government, Australia, it brings…

The feature film “Buta” of Azerbaijan director Ilgar Najaf is included in the competitive program of the 21st Cairo International Film Festival for Children. As informs an official site of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan, the festival of Children Films will pass from March, 23rd till March, 30th. Under the organizing committee invitation, the author of the scenario and the director of a film Ilgar Najaf will take part in festival. The film “Buta” is removed by request of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and is co production of a film studio of “Azerbaijan film” and a movie company “Buta”. The operator of a picture – Georgi…

  Buta   Azerbaijan Director: Ilgar Najaf 98 min. 2011, Colour, with dialogue, Azerbaijan, English subtitled Distributor: Asif Rustamov E-mail: [email protected] Producer: Ilgar Najaf & Khamis Muradov E-mail: [email protected] Screenplay: Ilgar Najaf Cinematographer: Georgi Beridze Music: Javanshir Guliyev Editor: Gulshen Salimova Cast: Tofig Aliyev, Rafig Azimov   BUTA is a tale-myth about a great love. The main characters of the movie are children who are in the very beginning point of their life. The main character, boy called Buta is luckier than others because he has got a wise adviser (tutor) who sells a liquid soap. This man helps boy in every step of his way. The wise man dreams…

“Directors often feel like Christopher Columbus” 7-year old Buta lives with his grandmother in a mountain village in Azerbaijan. Life seems easy: Buta goes to school, plays with his girlfriend, fights a group of envious boys and meets a new friend and tutor, an old soap seller encouraging him by his worldly wisdom and telling him stories from a long gone past. Buta is not just a name, it’s also a pattern on the carpets that the women in the village are weaving. Looking like a drop of water (see picture), it has a rich symbolic meaning. Looking closely, you’ll find buta’s everywhere in this film. Ilgar Najaf: “From the…

Buta is an ornament on carpets, fabrics, embroideries, frescoes. It had been known from times immemorial. It has polysemantic symbolics. It is interpreted as a bud, the Sun, a drop of water, a tongue-flame, an ovary of fruit and many other things. But mainly it symbolizes life. From the opening credits of Buta Scripted and directed by Ilgar Najaf, Buta was chosen as the Azerbaijani entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 85th Academy Awards. Buta is a nickname of the film’s protagonist, a seven-year old boy, who lives in a remote village in Azerbaijani highlands. Disconnected from the modern world, he and other villagers display a…