Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

A photo exhibition "Sovietskaya: A close encounter" has opened in Baku as part of the 2nd Fantazia Festival, aimed at raising awareness about the importance of preserving cultural heritage.

Despite the progressive and inexorable urban transformation, the area of Sovietskaya still mesmerizes Baku residents and foreign guests.

Three photographers Matthieu Haag, Nicolas Landemard and Rob Rombout captured the inhabitants of Sovietskaya street.

The area today is changing dramatically. Shabby buildings are a thing of the past, and in their place a grandiose project to create a green recreation area is being implemented.

Moreover, the festival's guests enjoyed another unique exhibition - "Architectural views around the World".

The project brought together three different photo exhibitions presenting the architectural wonders of three different countries: Spain, Tajikistan and Argentina.

Next, Belgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Bert Schoofs made a presentation on "60 years of Belgian Pop Music" in the frame of the festival. Participants took part a short trip to the history of pop music in Belgium.

The presentation continued with the screening of the biographical film "Marina" directed by Stijn Connix.

"Marina" is a biographical film released in 2013 and directed by Stijn Coninx. The film is based on the life of the Italian singer Rocco Granata who moved to Belgium when he was a young boy.

The film "The Cat's Smile" directed by Mario Brenta and Karine de Villers was also presented to the guests.

The film is a look at reality as it appears today in the streets and in the cities as an image of the crisis and the decline of Western Society in the era of globalization between extreme richness and extreme poverty, between homologation and loss of identity, between reality and illusion.

"The Cat's Smile" has been awarded with international prizes in Italy, India and Morocco.

Presentation on "The Italian architecture of the 30s and 40s on the Greek Island of Lero" by the First Counselor of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Denis Daniilidis took place at the Landmark, Cineclub.

In cooperation with the Municipal Library of Leros, Greece, Denis Daniilidis showcased original audiovisual material mostly unpublished so far regarding the making of an architectural experiment by mid-war Italian forces.

A city that was born from nowhere with unique architecture. Only two cities in the world have this architecture.

A workshop and workshop "Writing for the documentary, how to predict the unpredictable" were also held by famous documentary filmmakers Robert Rombout (Netherlands) and Xavier Solano (Ecuador), accompanied by illustrations. In addition, excursions to the sights of Baku were also conducted.

The Second Fantazia Festival coincides with the Eastern Partnership's 10th anniversary.

The main purpose of Fantazia Festival, named after Baku's famous bath house protected building, is to raise awareness on the need to showcase and to preserve cultural heritage.

The Second Fantazia Festival will run until November 15. As part of the festival, numerous art projects, debates and film screenings are held in Ganja. Moreover, the festival's guests are invited to the event dedicated to the Day of Albanian-Udinian Culture in the village of Nij, Gabala region.

The event is organized in partnership with EU Member States and countries - France, Bulgaria, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Hungary, Moldova, Mexico, Argentina, Tajikistan, Venezuela, as well as local partners, including the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture, the Main Baku City Culture Department and Icherisheher State Historical and Architectural Reserve.

The Second Fantazia Festival is sponsored by the Landmark Business Center. The festival's official partners include YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Salaam Cinema, Ganja Municipality, Albanian-Udinian Christian Community, Casa Batlo Barcelona, and AEDOS. The festival's scientific partners are Ca' Foscari University, Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, Azerbaijan-France University (UFZ), and Ganja State University.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.az, Trend.az, Day.az and Milli.az.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova