Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

British BBC has aired a video reportage on the “Ali and Nino” film, shot based on a novel with the same name by an Azerbaijani writer.

Chief Director of the British film Asif Kapadia, who is also a BAFTA award winner told BBC about the shooting of the movie, which was recently premiered at the prestigious American Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Kapadia told that the story takes place in the Caucasus.

“Today, the region is very important in kind what is going in the world now. Here the East meets the West, Europe meets Asia, Islam meets Christianity. It’s very stunning place. And it’s nothing like what I imagined. It was a crazy journey to this unknown world,” he said.

The film tells a love story of two young people, who have different religious faiths and nationalities, on the backdrop of World War I and the independence movement in Azerbaijan.

An Azerbaijani Muslim boy Ali and Georgian 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.

The film's executive producer is Leyla Aliyeva, producer is Kris Thykier. Screenwriter of "Ali and Nino" is a British novelist, screenwriter and film director Christopher Hampton.

Most scenes were shot in accordance with the original story, and on-screen work reflects both positive and negative aspects of the relationship between the two heroes.

Ali and Nino, being one of the most original works of the 20th century literature is a tale of love by an Azerbaijani novelist who wrote under the pen name Kurban Said. Since its initial publication in 1937, the acclaimed novel has been translated into 33 languages worldwide with nearly 100 reprints.

The stars of the 104-minute film include Adam Bakri, Maria Valverde, also known from movie “Three meters above the sky,” Mandy Patinkin, Connie Nielsen, Riccardo Scamarcio, Homayoun Ershadi and others.

Of note, another screen work of Kapadia "Amy" filmed in 2015, nominated for the "Oscar" in the category "The best feature-length documentary."

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

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