Oleg SAFARALIEV Олег САФАРАЛИЕВ Oleg SAFARALIEV   Russia / Azerbaijan, 2006, 90 mn  Colour, fiction

Good Bye, Southern City ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ Прощай, южный город    Adieu, ville du sud  Proshaj, yuzhny gorod

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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.

 

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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

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Selected in the following festivals :

- 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

- Festival Russian kino 'Moscow Premier Screenings', Moscow (Russia), 2007

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