Gamar Ali Kuli gizi Salamzade (Azerb.: Qəmər Əliqulu qızı Salamzadə, 5 May 1908, Julfa, Nakhchivan – 20 April 1994, Baku) was an Azerbaijani and Soviet film director and screenwriter. She was the first Azerbaijani female film director[1] and the creator of the first children’s film in Azerbaijan.[2]
Gamar Salamzade | |
|---|---|
| Born | Qəmər Əliqulu qızı Salamzadə (1908-05-05)5 May 1908 |
| Died | April 20, 1994(1994-04-20) (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Ajerbaijan |
| Occupation | film director, screenwriter |
| Known for | first Azerbaijani female film director |
| Notable work | "Rampant Band" |
Gamar Salamzade was born on 5 May 1908 in Julfa, Nakhchivan.[3] In 1912 her family moved to Tbilisi where in 1919 her father, a famous poet Aligulu Gamkusar, was killed by Mensheviks.[4] After graduating from the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute, Salamzade in 1929 went to study at the Moscow State College of Cinematography learning from Lev Kuleshov and Sergei Eisenstein.[3] She took an internship with film director Alexander Dovzhenko.[4]
After completing her education, Salamzade returned to Baku in 1931-32 and studied at the graduate school together with director Rza Tahmasib, artists Salam Salamzade and Rustam Mustafayev. During this period, she wrote scripts for the films Natavan and Nizami.[4]
In 1935 Salamzade became the second director of the silent film Dancing Turtles, based on the story of Abdullah Shaikh "The Playing Tortoise".[4] Another film she co-directed with Alexander Popov was The Naughty Gang (1937).[5] The film was considered lost for many years until it was rediscovered in Russian State Film Fund and shown to Azerbaijani audience in 2008.[2]
After starting a career as a director, she was appointed assistant director of the film Golden Shrub and became an assistant director of the film Weak People.[4]
Salamzade’s main activity in the “Azerbaijan” film studio began when Mehdi Hussein headed this organization in 1944.[6] She became the screenwriter and director of the documentary Song of Healing about a doctor Husniyya Diyarova.[4]
In 1946, Salamzada had an internship at the Mosfilm studios in the firm Life of Flowers dedicated to Ivan Michurin.[2]
Among other dozens of Salamzade’s films should be mentioned Handless People, 26 Baku Commissars, Rampant Band, Azerbaijan – Order Bearer, Sabukhi and One Family. She also dubbed Azerbaijani films.[7]
Salamzade is an author of the book The world seen through a small window.[3]
Gamar Salamzade died in 1994 in Baku at the age of 86.[4]
Gamar Salamzade was married to People’s Artist Salam Salamzade and had two daughters.[6]
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