Languages Archives: Talysh

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An older man and a younger man stand by a whirring projector.

The Return of the Projectionist Le Retour du projectionniste

  Orkhan Aghazadeh

  France, Germany     88 minutes

Synopsis

In this real-life tale set in a remote village in Azerbaijan’s Talysh mountains, elderly TV repairman Samid dusts off his old Soviet film projector with dreams of bringing movies on the big screen back to his rural community. When he meets Ayaz, a tech-savvy young man who creates short animated movies on his cell phone, the two join forces to realize Samid’s vision. But first, he must get a new projector bulb all the way from Lithuania and overcome skepticism among some of the town’s more conservative citizens.

Impeccably photographed and suffused with its protagonists’ love of cinema, The Return of the Projectionist unfolds with the sublime simplicity of the Iranian New Wave and the charm of Cinema Paradiso. Against the backdrop of Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Samid and Ayaz’s goals may seem trivial, but their everyday struggles — between tradition and modernity, past and future — resonate deeply.

  

 Azerbaijani, Talysh with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Screening

Sun, Oct 20 @ 8:15pm CDT

at Gene Siskel Film Center, screen 2

Scheduled to Attend:
Director Orkhan Agazade
Accessibility options for this screening:
  • Assistive Listening Devices available
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Screening

Mon, Oct 21 @ 12:00pm CDT

at AMC NEWCITY 14, screen 01

Scheduled to Attend:
Director Orkhan Agazade

Media

Film Credits

  •   François-Pierre Clavel, Alexandre Perrier, Lino Rettinger
  •   Orkhan Aghazadeh
  •   Nicole Schmeier
  •   Daniel Guliyev
  •   Kidam, Lichtblick films

Sponsors

Documentary Program Partner

Logo: WTTW (2019)

Documentary Program Patron

Cynthia Stone Raskin