Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The premiere of the “Ali and Nino” film, shot based on a novel with the same name by an Azerbaijani writer will take place in January 2016.

The long-awaited production will be screened at the prestigious American Sundance Film Festival, scheduled for January 21-31 in Park City, Utah.

Ali and Nino is a tale of love by an Azerbaijani author who wrote under the pen name Kurban Said. The epic love story is one of the most original works of twentieth century literature. Since its initial publication in 1937, the acclaimed novel has been translated into 33 languages worldwide with nearly 100 reprints.

The film's executive producer is Leyla Aliyeva, producer is Chris Tike, chief director is Asif Kapadia. Screenwriter of "Ali and Nino" is a British novelist, screenwriter and film director Christopher Hampton.

The cast includes Adam Bakri, Maria Valverde, also known from movie “Three meters above the sky,” Mandy Patinkin, Connie Nielsen, Riccardo Scamarcio, Homayoun Ershadi and others.

The shooting started this February and lasted until June and took place in Baku and the streets of the historic Icherisheher (Old City) and in different places of the capital, as well as in Gobustan and Khynalyg.

The story sets against the historical backdrop of World War I on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The tragic story of Ali Khan Shirvanshir, the male descendant of a royal Muslim family, and Nino Kipiani, a beautiful, Christian, Georgian princess, is described in this epic love novel.

Ali and Nino live in the oil-rich capital of Azerbaijan which at the beginning of the 20th century was a melting pot of different cultures. Despite differences in cultures, they have loved each other since childhood, and Ali is determined to marry Nino as soon as she leaves school.

Their love undergoes family differences, religious dissimilarities and a challenging political situation as Azerbaijan fights for independence.

The Sundance Film Festival is held since 1985. This year’s festival will feature 16 feature films, 10 documentaries and 3 children's activities and nine films.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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