Presentation of a book dedicated to Maksud Ibrahimbeyov and a premiere take place at the Heydar Aliyev Center

On June 2nd, a presentation of the book “Maksud is Immortal”, dedicated to a laureate of a State Prize of the Republic of Azerbaijan, People’s Writer Maksud Ibrahimbeyov, and a premiere of the show “A Comfortable Place in the Garden” took place at the Heydar Aliyev Center.  

Published with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the book “Maksud is Immortal” (“Максуд навсегда”) has been printed in the Azerbaijani and Russian languages. In the genre of documentary story, the book delivers information about the rich life of world-renowned writer, prosaist, screenwriter, director, laureate of the orders “Fame”, “Freedom” and “Glory” of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a candidate for Nobel Prize for literature in 2012 Maksud Ibrahimbeyov.

Why is Maksud Ibrahimbeyov still interesting for a reader? Why his narratives, stories, plays and films amaze us? Readers will be able to receive answers to all these questions in the book. Maksud Ibrahimbeyov’s own thoughts make up the book’s foundation: his interviews given about his life, his thoughts of his beloved work, private talks he had held with his friends and colleagues around a table etc.

Visitors make themselves familiar with posters of a number of films produced during 1960-70 based on scripts by Maksud Ibrahimbeyov and with a photo-exhibition reflecting frames from these works of scene in the foyer of the Center. Posters of the films “The Last Night of Childhood”, “Our Jabish Muallim”, “The Most Important Interview”, “Say, You Love Me!”, “When an Owl Arrives” and “An Incomplete Song” and photos were displayed at the exhibition.

Thereafter, a presentation of the show “A Comfortable Place in the Garden” took place. Staged by director Tarlan Rasulov, the experimental interactive show was made based on the stories “A Comfortable Place in the Garden”, “A Pistachio Tree” and “Good Bye, Milady” by Maksud Ibrahimbeyov. Although the works were written a few decades ago, they have not only preserved their urgency, they even have become the agenda due to their anti-war mood. Moreover, themes of Old Baku, intergenerational legacy and solidarity of the people of Azerbaijan capable to overcome any hardships in the most complex conditions are precisely described in all of the three stories.

Roles were played by Honoured artists Elshan Rustamov, Melek Abbaszadeh and Shahin Novresli. Young Azerbaijani musician and composer Nurlan Novresli performed music compositions behind a piano throughout the play.

Number of readers and spectators of Maksud Ibrahimbeyov, the author of scripts of loved-by-all films “Our Jabish Muallim”, “The Last Night of Childhood”, and works “A Story of Mesozoy”, “You are My Song”, “Who Goes to Truskavets?”, “For All Goods – Death!” etc., is millions, as the value he had been advocating for are of the category of eternity.

National features of the people of Azerbaijan? Its traditions, in particular, Baku’s unique colour have been reflected in the creativity of Maksud Ibrahimbeyov in a memorable fashion.

The state of Azerbaijan has always valued the creativity of the great writer. By a Resolution of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Maksud Ibrahimbeyov Creativity Center was instituted. The building of the Center was basically repaired by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, led by First Vice-president Mehriban Aliyeva, and was commissioned in 2018.