Directed by Aghanaghi Akhundov and Yalchin Efendiyev • 1969 • USSR/Azerbaijan
Produced at the start of the golden age of Azerbaijani animation, Akhundov and Efendiyev’s Jirtdan (meaning “small” or “dwarf”) is a magical little treat in which the titular tiny hero and his brothers must outwit the child-eating Div.
JIRTDAN
Directed by Aghanaghi Akhundov and Yalchin Efendiyev
Written by Alla Akhundova
Cinematography by Aleksandr Milov
In Azerbaijani with English subtitles
Up Next in Adventures in Eastern Europe: a cult cinema playlist from Dan Bird
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The White Bird Marked with Black
Directed by Yuri Ilyenko • 1971 • USSR/Ukraine
Yuri Ilyenko’s landmark film follows the Zvonars, a family of poor musicians, as personal and geopolitical crises collide across the course of the tumultuous 1940s. Set in the region of Bukovina, on the border between Ukraine and Romania, Ilyenko’s ...
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The Long Farewell
Directed by Kira Muratova • 1971 • USSR/Ukraine
Ukrainian auteur Kira Muratova’s sophomore directorial effort, The Long Farewell was shelved by censors until 1987, then heralded as a lost masterpiece. This simple tale of maternal jealousy and filial rebellion is transformed by Muratova ...
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Brief Encounters
Directed by Kira Muratova • 1967 • USSR/Ukraine
The debut feature from one of Russian-language cinema’s most fearless auteurs, Brief Encounters is a quietly devastating gem. Banned for twenty years and only rediscovered in the late ‘80s, this beautifully staged domestic drama uses flash...
