Swedish film director presents “Legend of Khari Bulbul” in US, Bulgaria

Chief producer and cinematographer, our compatriot from Sweden Rahim Sadigbayli has said that the presentation of the documentary film entitled “The Legend of Khari Bulbul”, dedicated to the history, culture and traditions of Shusha city, was held in the US and Bulgaria by famous Swedish film director and photographer Mikael Silkeberg.

The film was demonstrated at the Turkish Consulate General in New York. The event was organised by President of Azerbaijan Society of America Tomris Azeri, Sadigbayli told Trend Life.

The presentation was held in Washington through the support of the US embassy in Azerbaijan at the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce.

Silkeberg, founder of the Mugham Society of America, popularizer of Azerbaijani music in the world, musicologist Jeffrey Werbock, public representatives and representatives of diplomatic missions, representatives of culture and scholars, and the Azerbaijani diaspora attended the event.

The film was presented at the Cinema House in Sofia through the support of the Azerbaijani embassy in Bulgaria as part of the 15th Sofia MENAR Film Festival.

Silkeberg visited Azerbaijan several times, having done extensive research for the implementation of the project.

The film includes an interesting synthesis of the fairy tale of Danish classic Hans Christian Andersen "The Nightingale", the works by modern author Hokan Sedin "Eastern Legend of Love" and the lyric-epic poem of the 16th-century by Azerbaijani poet Muhammad Fuzuli "Leyli and Majnun".

The film also reveals the attitude towards Azerbaijani mugham and ghazal (amatory poems) and tells about great personalities, namely, poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan, poet Molla Panah Vagif, composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov, and vocalist Bulbul.

Azerbaijani famous figures of culture and art, namely, pianist and composer Farhad Badalbeyli, historian Elchin Ahmadov, mugham performer Mansum Ibrahimov, literary critic Asad Jahangir, director of the Bulbul house-museum Fakhraddin Hajibayli and others, participate in the film.

The project was implemented through the financial support of the National Commission of Azerbaijan for UNESCO, through the assistance of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture, and the Azerbaijan State Committee for Work with the Diaspora. The film was shot in Shusha in May 2022.

The film was successfully demonstrated in Stockholm (Sweden), Baku (Azerbaijan), and Dubai (UAE).