Oleg SAFARALIEV
Олег САФАРАЛИЕВ
Oleg SAFARALIEV
Russia / Azerbaijan, 2006, 90mn 
Colour, fiction
Good Bye, Southern City
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Прощай, южный город

 

 Adieu, ville du sud

 Proshaj, yuzhny gorod

Other titles : Elvida, Cenub Seheri
 
Directed by : Oleg SAFARALIEV (Олег САФАРАЛИЕВ)
Writing credits : Rustam IBRAGIMBEKOV (Рустам ИБРАГИМБЕКОВ)
 
Cast
Timur BADALBEYLY (Тимур БАДАЛБЕЙЛИ) ...Alik
Gadzhi ISMAILOV (Гаджи ИЗМАЙЛОВ)
Fakhratdin MANAFOV (Фахраддин МАНАФОВ) ...Rza
Zaki MEKHRIBAN (Заки МЕХРИБАН ЗАКИ) ...Maïa
Tofik MIRZOEV (Тофик МИРЗОЕВ) ...Le grand-père
Fuad POLADOV (Фуад ПОЛАДОВ) ...Fariz
Elmira SHABANOVA (Елмира ШАБАНОВА) ...Khanmana
 
Cinematography : Murat ALIYEV (Мурат АЛИЕВ)
Production design : Mais AGABEKOV (Маис АГАБЕКОВ), Aziz MAMEDOV (Азиз МАМЕДОВ)
Music : Siyavush KERIMI (Сиявуш КЕРИМИ)
Produced by : Rustam IBRAGIMBEKOV (Рустам ИБРАГИМБЕКОВ)
Production : Azerbaïdjanfilm
 
format : 35 mm

Awards :
Prix du public au Festival Premières de Moscou, 2007

Plot synopsis
Lyrical drama about the turning-point in the history of Azerbaijan, when Baku ceased to be a Soviet city and people had to learn how to live once more. As all the courtyards of this southern international city, these small courtyards were once completely different. The most different people lived there: Russian, Azeri, Armenians, Jews citizens of Baku. They lived not well, but also not bad. They drank, sang, quarreled, made peace, loved, gave birth and buried. They lived not in families, but by courtyards according to their wishes and abilities. Then a stranger appeared in the courtyard and began to assert new laws of living together.
 

Commentaries and bibliography
Oleg Safaraliev : Goodbye, Southern City (Әlvida, cәnub şәhәri, Azerbaijan and Russia, 2006), Thomas WELSFORD, kinokultura.com, 2007
 
Baku at the end of the eighties. The political changes that will eventually lead to the disintegration of the Soviet Union have left their mark on the capital city of Azerbaijan. They also have palpable consequences for the lives of the ordinary inhabitants of this hospitable city on the Caspian Sea. A case in point is the house to which Fariz and his family move as new tenants. Fariz is a refugee from Nagorny Karabach, an autonomous area inside Azerbaijan largely populated by Armenians. He was forced to flee his home in the wake of the escalating nationality conflict. Before long, Fariz succeeds in awakening feelings of guilt among his new neighbours with respect to their supposed lack of political engagement. However, if truth be known, Fariz is only following his own personal interests - which have nothing to do with his impassioned declarations. The only person courageous enough to stand up to him is Alik, who belongs to a generation hampered by its inability to compromise - a problem that could well mean his downfall. A film about the end of deep-seated traditions, set against the backdrop of the protagonist's personal tragedy and the diverse problems of the neighbourhood where he lives.
Source : www.berlinale.de

Selected in the following festivals or events :
- International Film Festival of the Commonwealth Countries "Moscow Premiere", Moscow (Russia), 2022
- Antalya "Golden Orange" International Film Festival, Antalya (Turkey), 2011
- World Film Festival, Montreal (Canada), 2007
- Berlin International Film Festival : Berlinale, Berlin (Germany), 2007
- Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 2007
- Film Festival of CIS countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia "Kinoshock", Anapa (Russia), 2007
- International Film Festival of the Commonwealth Countries "Moscow Premiere", Moscow (Russia), 2007

Photos and videos