Synopsis

The first internationally acclaimed film produced in independent Azerbaijan after the downfall of the Soviet Union is a nostalgic declaration of love to the heyday and death of the silent film. In a fascinating elliptic style, Yarasa tells the fatal love story in and about the cinema. It is an ode to phantasy, while considering the incongruity of art and life at times humorous, at times tragical. About the plot: An elderly scientist falls for the ticket clerk Turan, wo is embarking upon a career as an actress. The both of them get married, and together they spend a great many hours in the movie theatres. The old art lover does not even notice that he soon is not the only man in Turan’s life anymore. When the sound film finally reaches Azerbaijan, the man is shocked and goes blind. Now, Turan is not even embarrassed anymore to invite her lover into her home. And so, the two of them are forced to try to hide their affair from the blind husband in silence. The lines between film and love get blurry, and eventually, the death of the silent film becomes a life threatening danger for Turan. The director Ayaz Salayev describes a poetic and allegorical story of cinema, which takes the audience with all those references to the Western world of music, literature and cinema completely into another time and space.

Guests

Ayaz Salayev

Director Yarasa