Rustam Ibragimbekov

Rustam Ibragimbekov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1939. He is an internationally renowned and multi-award winning screenwriter, dramatist and producer. He holds State awards for contributions to the arts from both Azerbaijan and Russia, and in 2000 was made a ‘Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’, one of France’s most prestigious cultural awards.

His writing credits include more than 40 film and television scripts, plays and prose. Close to Eden (1993) won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, a European Film Award for Best Film of the Year, and was nominated for an Oscar. In 1994, Burnt by the Sun was awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes and an Oscar for Best Foreign Film.