Ali Isa Dzhabbarov: "It is foremost to support the national film industry and it will yield positive results"

Film director Ali Isa Dzhabbarov, the secretary of the Union of Cinematographers of Azerbaijan, the head of the Association of Young Filmmakers, the executive producer of the film studio "Buta-film" talked to "Vestnik Kavkaza" about the current state of Azerbaijani film production and the problems of Azerbaijani cinema.

- Why are Azerbaijani businessmen not interested in investing in the movie industry?

- I guess they think that if they finance or support culture, then they will be noticed by the tax authorities. It is a purely psychological point. At the moment the parliament is preparing a new draft law on the subject. The benefactors and sponsors of the movie industry will be given tax concessions. This will be a big step in the development of our cinema.

Azerbaijani businessmen will know that if they finance movies, they will be able to offset taxes- it will be an incentive for them. Such a precedent exists in the Russian film industry. In Russia there was a time when people involved in the film industry were completely exempt from taxes. This measure yielded a positive effect, a boom took place in the Russian film industry, box office hits appeared, many people started to attend movie theaters, the audience became interested in Russian cinema. On the other hand, the Producers Guild and the Directors Guild are attempting to propose a law that would exempt Azerbaijani cinematographers from taxes for at least two years. I think it is unfair when we pay the same tax as large financial corporations and big oil companies. It is foremost to support the national film industry and it will yield positive results.

- Can you realize your creative potential as a film director and producer?

- Andrey Tarkovsky used to say: "If a director does not have ten ideas that are developed in detail, one can doubt his professionalism." I do not have ten ideas, but I do have a couple. I am constantly working on realizing them. It is very difficult to address funding issues at the moment, therefore one always has to work, to look for financing, which is the direct task of a film producer. I want to make two full-length psychological dramas which tell people's stories that will be interesting not only to the domestic but also to the western audience. So far we have made mostly only short films, but they are welcomed with great interest at western festivals, TV channels. Our works were bought by a pair of solid European channels and we have participated in a dozen film festivals. Our creative team has dabbled, we never governed ourselves by the principle of income. Everything we earned, we invested in new films and this principle has yielded positive results. Cinema requires sacrifice, we have a difficult and dangerous profession.

One of the movies of our creative team is the movie "Cheaters." It is a lyrical drama, which we made for an audience with a good taste. And we have succeeded in doing so. A copy of the film is available on You Tube, it has high viewer ratings. I am proud that we produce pictures not only for the Western market, not only festival films. The short films "Node", "Home" and "Buta" have had a huge success at western festivals. The film "House" featured at the French Short Film Festival in Clermont-Ferrand, major television channels in Europe have broadcast the movie "Node." But the movie "Buta" by Ilgar Najaf had the biggest success. It was produced by the film studio "Azerbaijanfilm" and the film company "Buta-film." I participated in it as a representative of "Buta-film" and as one of the producers. The film has featured in many festivals, has won several Grand Prix, the top prize of the Academy of Asia and of the Asia Pacific Awards, journalists refer to this prize as the "Oscar of Asia." The movie "Buta" won a nomination for best children's movie there. Unfortunately, our creative team has no possibilities to fully realize our potential, today there are no standard good budgets, that is why for now we have to produce short and low-budget films.

- You are also known as the founder of an analytical magazine on the world of cinema, "Focus". Has it found its readership?

- It is gradually finding its readership, but it hasn't found its buyer yet. We do not distribute this magazine. Only small quantities are placed in some stores. We do it in order to research whether we would have a return on the investment. Basically, we distribute "Focus" for free. The magazine has strong positions among the reading cinema audience, although I would not say that our filmmakers like to read. The magazine "The  Art of Cinema" should be read by any movie professional. I am sure that not more than ten people are subscribed to this magazine in Azerbaijan. I often come to the offices of cinema officials and I do see "The Art of Cinema" on their tables. Our cinema audience does not like to read. But "Focus" is quite in demand because it is in the Azerbaijani language, because it deals with issues that directly affect the world of the people of the cinema, because we publish scripts. By the way, this section is particularly in demand, people call and ask to print their scripts. Nevertheless, I do not observe any boom on the part of the readers. The main thing for us today is to maintain a high standard of quality and continue to publish issues with the same frequency.