Archive of films There Was Never a Better Brother / I ně bylo lučše brata

Azerbaijan / Russia / Bulgaria
2010, 93 min

Section: East of the West - Competition
Year: 2011

A story of two, temperamentally different brothers that takes place in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku in the 1970s. While the elder Jalil is more settled, younger Simurg has an adventurous nature. This visually captivating narrative with universal overtones is based on the novel of the same name by the director’s father, Maksud Ibragimbekov.

Synopsis

This story of two, temperamentally different brothers takes place in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku in the 1970s. The elder brother, Jalil, is a married postal worker who keeps bees as a hobby. Like those creatures, he approaches life with measured care. Younger brother Simurg is by nature more adventurous and, in contrast to his sibling, is capable of going after his goals, not just dreaming about them. And when a beautiful neighborhood girl charms the young men, their character differences become apparent once again. There Was Never a Better Brother is based on the novel of the same name by the director’s father Maksud Ibragimbekov. Using deep colors and intriguing visual compositions, Ibragimbekov brings the recent past back to life and adds other narrative layers: visions and memories of childhood. Despite the fact that the film is set in Soviet era Baku, its message stresses universality.

About the director

Murad Ibragimbekov (b. 1965, Baku, Azerbaijan) graduated in direction from Moscow’s VGIK film academy (1989). He shot his first features based on the literary work of his father, writer Maksud Ibragimbekov, including The Waltz of the Golden Calves (Vals zolotykh teltsov, 1993). After another literary adaptation, this time True Stories (Istinnye proishestviya, 2000) by Mikhail Zoschenko, he came out with the comedy Three Girls (Tri devushki, 2006) shot according to his own script. He has also made inroads into the field of documentary filmmaking, receiving international recognition (a Silver Lion at Venice) for the short film Oil (Neft, 2003). The director also occasionally acts in his own movies and those of others, among them Larisa Sadilova’s With Love, Lilly (S ljubovju, Lilja), screened at the Karlovy Vary festival in 2003.

Contacts

Ibrus
Druzhinnikovskaya, 123242, Moscow
Russia
Tel: +7 985 211 965 1
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.ibragimbekov.ru

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About the film

Color, 35 mm
World premiere

Section:	East of the West - Competition

Director:	Murad Ibragimbekov
Screenplay:	Murad Ibragimbekov, Pavel Finn podle stejnojmenné prózy Maksuda Ibragimbekova / based on the novel of the same name by Maksud Ibragimbekov
Dir. of Photography:	Ivan Gudkov
Music:	Alexei Aigui
Editor:	Tatyana Egorycheva, Svetlana Guralskaya
Producer:	Murad Ibragimbekov, Alexandr Shvidkoy, David Shufutinsky
Production:	Ibrus
Cast:	Sergey Puskepalis, Evgeny Tsyganov, Nino Ninidze
Contact:	Ibrus

Guests

Murad Ibragimbekov

Film Director / Producer

Sergey Puskepalis

Actor

Pavel Finn

Screenwriter

Rustam Ibragimbekov

Producer