The historical feature-documentary film "Azerbaijani Atabegs" is produced with the joint participation of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Cinema Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ARKA), Azerbaijan Television, "Shahdaghfilm," and the Turkish production companies "IkinciYeniFilm," "Patik Production," and "Ernet Group."
On December 3, the premiere of the film was held at the Heydar Aliyev Center. It was attended by state and government officials, parliamentarians, prominent cultural figures, and other guests.
First, the film was presented to the participants in the foyer of the center, where the guests were provided with information about the film. It was emphasized that the story revolves around the lives of two prominent historical figures of the Turkic world of the Middle Ages: courageous commanders Gara Sungur and Shams ad-Din Eldiguz, the founder of the Atabegs state. The script takes the audience back to the 12th century, sheds light on the glorious history of Azerbaijan, and promotes the national and spiritual heritage of that era. Then the movie was presented.
After the screening of the film, the creative team was welcomed to the stage with applause.
Ilgar Mehti, scriptwriter, producer, and director of "Shahdaghfilm" production, and Mejit Guven, production manager, expressed their opinions about the script. It was noted that the script of the film is based on the knowledge and insights of the employees of the Institute of History and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, independent historians, and military experts. The script, which was developed through extensive research to authentically portray the language, social, and cultural structure of the Middle Ages, was based on historical sources. The film also depicts significant events such as the Battle of Dabil, the Great Ganja Earthquake of 1139, and the palace coups of the period.
It was noted that the film was produced in cooperation with professional filmmakers from Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
"Shahdaghfilm" and "IkinciYeniFilm," well-known producer of historical films in Turkey, joined forces for this important project and demonstrated exceptional professionalism. More than 80 percent of the creative and technical team consisted of Azerbaijani film specialists. Real historical castles and complexes in Azerbaijan were used as filming locations, while about 500 special costumes were made and hundreds of dresses, props, and accessories were either produced or purchased.
In their speeches, the speakers thanked everyone who contributed to the creation of the film. The director of the production is Mejit Guven, and the scriptwriters are Sarvar Bayramov, Ilgar Mehti, Sakhavat Sahil, and Ercan Kaya. The producers are Ilgar Mehti, Sarvar Bayramov, and Furkan Basli, representing "IkinciYeniFilm," while the production designer is Zafer Malkoç.
In the feature documentary, famous K1 fighter Zabit Samadov portrayed Shams ad-Din Eldiguz, while Ilgar Mehti took on the role of Gara Sungur. Other key roles were played by People's Artist Mehriban Zaki as Momina Khatun, Honored Artist Bahruz Vaqifoghlu as Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan, Jala Hasanli as Zubayda Khatun, Gunay Ahmed as Lachin, Tural Ahmed as Arslan Shah, Ilgar Musayev as Jandar Chavli, Samimi Farhad as Vazir al-Khazni, Samir Gulamov as Ganjar Bey, Salam Ismayilov as Sheikh Imad, Turkay Jafarli as Sheikh Imad's assistant, Rashad Kasamanli as Commander, Hidayat Aliyev as Sultan Masud, and other actors from Azerbaijan.
More than 100 actors appeared in episodic roles in the film, and in total, more than crew members contributed to the production.
The film, created through a public-private partnership, will be released in cinemas from December 5.
