MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL 2015 - BLOODY JANUARY / QANLI YANVAR

By Bernard Bujold (LeStudio1) - 
The Montreal World Film Festival may not welcome big American movie stars to draw the crowds but the films to the program are often exceptional in many cases and foreign producers all demonstrate great admiration to the Festival and its founder Serge Losique. 
Among the foreign films in 2015 "Focus on World Cinema", a film that stands out is BLOODY JANUARY / QANLI YANVAR by director Vahid Mustafa Yev. 
The film tells the story of the events during the night of January 19 to 20, 1990, when the Soviet Army (time of Mikhail Gorbachev) invaded Baku and its surroundings (AZERBAIJAN) and killed many civilians. During this bloody episode, 170 people were killed, over 800 injured and hundreds arrested. The film tells this sad page of the struggle of the Azerbaijani people for independence, seen through the eyes of two brothers: Najaf Narimanov, Communist and KGB officer, and Mehdi Narimanov, former officer of the Soviet army in Afghanistan, converted into revolutionary democrat. The brothers both aspire to a prosperous country but have different political positions. 
The director was very pleased to present his film in Montreal and he even offered a gift to the founder Serge Losique in recognition. For the public, it offered free popcorn to all... 
If there is a conclusion to the film is that military violence does not change from one era to another and the result is always the dead of young people who aspire only political changes but pay with their lives for their political desire. 
Picture 1: Poster of the movie;
Picture 2: Vahid Mustafa Yev and Serge Losique;
Picture 3: Vahid Mustafa Yev;
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