Even the best of filmmakers are not immune to the compulsion to push the narrative towards a happy ending, or to put in an element of hope. Azerbaijani filmmaker Ilgar Najaf does not seem to fall for such compulsions in his second film Pomegranate Orchard, which has evoked myriad emotions among audiences at various film festivals.
“At a recent film festival, one lady came to me with tear-filled eyes and asked me, ‘Why did your film end leaving that family in such a hopeless state?’ I believe that it’s not the job of the filmmaker to provide happy endings or to bring about closure. You have to leave something for the audience to ponder later, and continue the story in their minds,” says Najaf, whose film is being featured in the competition section of the 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala.
Inspiration
The story, inspired from Anton Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard is set in a house amid a vast pomegranate orchard, owned and taken care of by an old man, who lives there with his daughter-in-law and grandson. One rainy night, his son, who had disappeared 12 years ago and had remained untraceable ever since, returns home. While his wife warms up immediately to the man who left her long back, his father and son are not so convinced about his motives.
It is the kind of story that could easily be made into a Malayalam mainstream cinema, but here you are treated to a slow-burner, where information, especially about the mysterious son and the reasons for his leaving, are revealed only in bits and pieces.
Like Najaf’s first film Buta, made in 2011, the second film is also set in rural Azerbaijan, where modernity is yet to seep in, and is almost unwelcome as his son is for the old man.
A refugee
Born in Armenia, Najaf’s family were thrown out of the country and became refugees following an ethnic conflict, when he was just 13. His path soon turned to filmmaking in his adopted country. After a stint at the Azerbaijan State University of Arts, he established his own film studio, producing and directing short films and documentaries.
“In Azerbaijan, we have three kinds of films — the mindless commercial ones, the films which are funded by the State, and the ones which are self-funded. Mine belongs to the third category and it provides me independence and immense satisfaction, although I don’t get much of the money that I put into this,” says Najaf.
Both his films, Buta and Pomegranate Orchard have been chosen to represent Azerbaijan in the Academy Awards. No mean achievement for someone in his adopted country.