Today is the memorial day of People's Artist Rasim Ojagov

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the death of the outstanding film director, laureate of the State Prize, People's Artist Rasim Ojagov.

He was born on November 22, 1933, in Sheki. Young Rasim, who was seriously engaged in photography, got the opportunity to observe the work of a film crew that had come to his hometown. The world of cinema attracted him so much that the young photographer decided to deeply study and master this art.

After finishing secondary school, he went to Moscow, where he enrolled in the cinematography faculty of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography. He graduated in 1956, and from 1961 to 1967, he studied at the directing faculty of the Azerbaijan State Theatre Institute.

Having begun his career in 1956 as a director of photography at the "Azerbaijanfilm" studio, Rasim Ojagov worked here in various positions. His first film as a cinematographer was "Two from the Same Neighborhood." After that, Rasim Ojagov created outstanding examples of cinematographic art in Azerbaijani cinema — "A True Friend," "Our Street," "I Will Dance," "Why Are You Silent?," "The Return of the Violin."

The first film directed by Rasim Ojagov was "The Avenger from Ganjabasar." His next directorial work was the film "The Sound of the Flute." Rasim Ojagov directed films that constitute unforgettable pages in the chronicle of national cinema. Among them are "Birthday," "Interrogation," "Before the Closed Door," "The Park," "Another Life," "Temple of Air," "Takhmina," "An Istanbul Story," "A Room in a Hotel."

Rasim Ojagov passed away on July 11, 2006.