PREMIERE OF THE FEATURE FILM “44” HELD

On October 12, the feature film "44" was presented to the public at the Heydar Aliyev Center. The film is dedicated to the heroism displayed by the Azerbaijani people during the Patriotic War and aims to foster a patriotic spirit in the younger generation while preserving historical memory.
Arzu Aliyeva, Head of the Baku Media Center, and Alyona Aliyeva attended the presentation ceremony.
Before the screening, a minute of silence was observed in honor of the martyrs. Guests then listened to the soundtrack of "44," performed by the Symphony Orchestra of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater and the Azerbaijan State Choral Chapel. The evocative music was accompanied by documentary footage on screen, depicting the Azerbaijani people's path toward Victory.
Following a video showcasing statistics regarding the production of the film, the feature itself was screened.
The film is a drama of heroism and love, told through the eyes of a cadet. The events portrayed embody the spirit, willpower, and self-sacrifice of a generation that rose to defend the Homeland—exemplified by the special forces personnel. At the center of the plot are Rashad Khalilova, an officer in the Special Forces; Zeynep Özdemir, a Turkish orthopedic surgeon working in Azerbaijan; and Colonel Ramazan Karimov, the commander of a special operations unit. Alongside themes of love and personal trials, the film depicts intense military operations.
Produced with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Cinema Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Baku Media Center, the feature film "44" stands as one of the largest cinematic projects in Azerbaijan in recent years—notable for its scale, the number of specialists involved, the geographical scope of filming, the volume of technical resources utilized, and the level of international collaboration.
The film’s creative director is Anar Alakbarov; it is directed by Ismayil Safarali and Maksim Smetana, with a screenplay by Anar Alakbarov and Ismayil Iman. The production team includes producer Orman Aliyev, cinematographer Oleksandr Pozdnyakov, editor Elshad Rahimov, composer Ruslan Aghababayev, and sound designer Teymur Karimov.
The production of the film—from the development of the screenplay through to the post-production stage—spanned five years. Specifically, the writing of the screenplay and the director’s script took 2 years; pre-production preparations lasted 1 year; filming spanned 14 months; and post-production work took 1 year. The core creative, acting, and administrative team for the film consisted of 455 people. When accounting for military personnel, extras in crowd scenes, actors in bit parts, and various external specialists, the total number of participants in the project reached several thousand. A total of 198 specialists from various fields were brought in for the project. The production involved 2,500 military personnel, 42 operatives from the Special Forces, 32 actors in lead or major roles, 1,143 actors in smaller roles, and approximately 2,000 individuals for crowd scenes. Among the cast are also participants of the Patriotic War.
In addition to Azerbaijani actors, the well-known Turkish actress Özge Gürel also features in the film. Prior to filming, the cast underwent military-tactical training at a Special Forces training base. All branches and types of forces of the Azerbaijani Army participated in the film. Filming for the production took place in Baku, Absheron, Aghdam, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Goranboy, Ganja, Khojaly, Khojavend, Khizi, Lerik, and Shusha—encompassing over 130 locations in total.
The production of the film involved the use of more than 150 pieces of military hardware, including aircraft, vehicles, weaponry, and specialized equipment. The assets deployed for filming included tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, multiple launch rocket systems, artillery, combat helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, engineering equipment, and armored vehicles, as well as small arms, machine guns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, anti-tank missile systems, and mortars. To realistically recreate large-scale combat scenes, the production utilized 300,000 rounds of various types of training and live ammunition, hundreds of training munitions, and significant quantities of pyrotechnics, smoke effects, explosives, and specialized stunt equipment.
The editing of 112 hours of raw footage took one year to complete, resulting in a final film with a runtime of 2 hours and 38 minutes.

International experts were involved in the realization of the project at various stages. Specialists from 13 countries—the USA, Germany, Austria, Belarus, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Estonia—contributed to areas including stunt coordination, the staging of action sequences, pyrotechnic effects, on-set sound recording, camera crew support, makeup, music recording, sound mixing, sound design, computer graphics, color grading, final image processing, and the provision of technical equipment for the premiere screening. The film’s computer graphics were produced in collaboration with Ukrainian specialists at the Estonian studio "UMP"—which specializes in 3D graphics, computer animation, and visual effects—without the use of any artificial intelligence tools.
The film’s post-production phase, including color grading, digital image processing, and mastering, was carried out at the Polish studio "FixaFilm," which specializes in these areas and holds "Dolby Vision" certification. For the film's premiere, a modern, specialized projection screen was acquired from the German-Austrian company "Lang AG," and a state-of-the-art cinema projector—capable of screening films in the DCP format—was leased from the German firm "BIG cinema." This technology was utilized in Azerbaijan for the first time to screen a feature film of this scale at such a high level of quality. Additionally, advanced sound systems were employed during the screening to ensure high-quality audio.
To mark the premiere, a special publication was produced—featuring photographs and information detailing the filming process, archival materials, and the work of the creative team—alongside a limited number of commemorative gift sets.
Following the presentation, families of martyrs, participants of the Second Karabakh War, and members of the creative and technical crew were invited to the stage, where they delivered remarks.
Plans are in place to promote the feature film "44" internationally, including screenings abroad and participation in film festivals.
The film will be screened in cinemas across the country starting October 15.