Epress.am News from Armenia
Eldar Guliyev’s feature film “Hostage” (2005), which depicts a personal story during the Nagorno-Karabakh war, was screened at the Union of Cinematographers of Azerbaijan Cinema House during cinema week.
As reported earlier, the film was banned in Azerbaijan since the Armenian POW in the film was depicted in “a positive light” and having humane qualities, which reportedly didn’t please the country’s leadership.
There have been different reports from Azerbaijani media about the film, which by the way, is an Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Azerbaijanfilm Studio production, according to Variety.com. Baku-art, for instance, reports that “watching the movie, the peoples of the world learned of the crimes committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis.”
Aze.az, however, reports, “In the course of the Karabakh war, Armenians take Azerbaijani Kerim as hostage. Village residents decide to give Kerim’s wife an Armenian hostage in order to exchange hostages. As time passes, the Azerbaijani village residents realize that the Armenian man also has human qualities and finds himself in the same situation as them.”
Baku-art also notes that this film has become the highest-grossing Azerbaijani film abroad.
Asked why his films “Scream” and “Memory” reveal the “atrocities of Armenians, while ‘Hostage’ attempts to somewhat smooth the conflict, to mitigate the enemy attitude between the two nations,” Guliyev said that he doesn’t want war.
“I don’t want young, beautiful Azerbaijani men to die there. I don’t know any parents who want war. I don’t want to see the tears of mothers. I don’t want to see the tears of girls who’ve lost their loved ones in war. I don’t know people who would want such a thing,” he said.
Guliyev said he himself put the ban on his film, explaining his decision due to lack of cinemas in the country. “We do not have cinemas. God willing, the Nizami cinema will reopen and then other cinemas will be restored. Then I believe this film will be given over to people’s judgement.”