Karabakh Revival Fund partners the first Lachin International Film Festival

The Karabakh Revival Fund (KRF) served as an official partner of the first Lachin International Film Festival, held in Lachin from 24 to 27 August.

The festival formed part of the ceremonial programme marking Lachin City Day and represents a further step in the cultural revival of Karabakh and East Zangezur.

Held under the banner “Where Film Meets LIFE”, it was organised by the Hoçazfilm studio with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Special Representative Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Lachin district, the Karabakh Revival Fund, the Film Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Bakı Abadlıq Xidməti.

As the first international film festival ever held in Karabakh and East Zangezur, it showed once again that the reconstruction of the liberated territories is not a matter of infrastructure alone: restoring the cultural and civic life of these lands is no less of a priority.

The festival will be remembered as more than a programme of screenings — it was a cultural event that embodied the idea of revival itself. Its significance works on several levels at once: it brings new creative voices to light, introduces Lachin’s cultural revival to an international audience, and establishes the city as a new creative venue on the map of world cinema.

Among those attending were government officials, prominent figures from culture and the arts, guests from abroad, and residents and visitors of Lachin.

Speaking at the ceremony, Rahman Hajiyev, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Karabakh Revival Fund, said that alongside the large-scale reconstruction under way across the liberated territories, bringing cultural life back to the region remains a particular priority.

The festival, he said, gives filmmakers from Azerbaijan and abroad a rare chance to see Karabakh as it is today. He expressed confidence that the initiative will inspire the international film community with the story of the region — its past and its present revival — and encourage filmmakers to take up Karabakh as a subject in future work.

Close to 300 films from 47 countries were submitted to the festival, of which 20 titles representing 15 countries were selected for screening. Among them was a special Karabakh premiere of the Uzbek film Amir Temur, directed by Jacob Schwartz.

The closing and awards ceremony was held as part of a special event for Lachin City Day, attended by hundreds of residents and visitors. Official Selection certificates were presented to 39 participants, and 17 awards were made in total. The festival’s official prize, the Golden Oak Branch, went to five Azerbaijani and two international directors.