Today is the day of the creation of Azerbaijani cinema.

Axar.az reports that by the Decree of the national leader Heydar Aliyev dated December 18, 2000, August 2 is celebrated as the professional holiday of cinema workers - the Day of Azerbaijani Cinema.

Two years after the first film screening in France - on August 2, 1898, the secretary of the Baku scientific-photographic society, publisher and photographer Alexander Michon demonstrated his filmed films "The Fire of the Oil Fountain in Bibiheybat", "The Farewell Ceremony of His Majesty the Emir of Bukhara", the documentary chronicle "Caucasian Dance" and the feature film "Ilishdin". It is on this day that the national cinema is considered to be born.

At the beginning of the last century, foreign film companies such as "Pate", "Pirone", "and Filma" opened branches in Baku and were engaged in film production. In 1916, the short feature films "In the Kingdom of Oil and Millions" were shot based on the story of the same name by writer Ibrahim Bey Musabeyov, and in 1917, "Arshin mal alan" was shot based on the operetta of the same name by Uzeyir Hajibeyli.

After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Photo-Cinema Department (AFKI) was established in 1923, and the First State Film Factory was opened on April 28 of that year. The first film shot here was the feature film "Maiden's Tower", created based on the motifs of a folk legend.

In 1923-26, the film studio was merged with the First State Film Factory, and later with the AFKI Film Factory, and was called "Azdovletkino", "Azerkino", "Azerfilm", "Azdovletkinosenaye", "Baku film studio", "Azerbaijanfilm". Since 1960, it has been named after Jafar Jabbarli.

"Azerbaijanfilm" has produced more than two thousand films of various types and genres so far. Some of them, including "Arshin mal alan", "Sharikli çork", "Ad günü", "İstintag", "Yaramaz" and others, have been awarded State awards, and many films, including "Stepmother", "Uzag sahilderda", "Arshin mal alan", "Bizim Jabish muallim", "Akhırınci asırim", "Nasimi", "Özgə vakht", "Sarı gelın" and others, have been awarded prizes at international and other film festivals.