“Inner city” wins Gold Remi Award

"Inner City" film by Azerbaijani filmmaker Ilgar Safat has won the Gold Remi Award at the 50th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in Houston, Texas, USA.

The film was presented to spectators by actress Tahmina Rafaella, who is also a scriptwriter of the film, Trend Life reported.

“Inner city” is a psychological drama about a romance between a young student Arzu, who's dreams reach beyond the primitive ambitions of her peers, and Rafael, a veteran of the Karabakh war with crushed dreams of his own.

The story explores what it's like for a young woman to have non-traditional values and love freely in a county that's driven by a cultural mentality that's been passed down through generations, as well as the pain that comes along with breaking free from a society's expectations.

The film was produced by "Azerbaijanfilm" Studio named after Jafar Jabbarly.

The cast include Tahmina Rafaella, Firdovsi Atakishiyev, Mehriban Zeki and Elmira Shabanova.

Screenwriters are Tahmina Rafaella and Ilgar Safat, stage director Ilgar Safat, stagemanaging operator Luca Coassin (Italy), art director Butunay Hagverdiyev, executive producer Ulvi Gasimov, producer Mushfig Hatamov.

Tahmina Rafaella was awarded “Best Actress” in 5th Van Lake International Festival in Turkey for her performance in the film.

WorldFest became the third competitive international film festival in North America, following San Francisco and New York.

WorldFest was founded as Cinema Arts in 1961. It evolved into a competitive International Film Festival in April, 1968. It was founded by award-winning producer/director Hunter Todd to present a quality film festival for the Independent filmmakers.