Elchin Musaoglu [Guliyev] (Azerbaijani: Elçin Musaoğlu Quliyev) is an Azerbaijani theatre and film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for the award-winning feature films The 40th Door and Nabat. In 2016, he was awarded the honorary title of Honored Art Worker of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Musaoglu is a member of the European Film Academy, the Azerbaijan Professional Film Directors Guild, and the Turkish Association of Documentary Filmmakers.
Early life
Elchin Musaoglu was born on 11 July 1966 in Baku. From 1983 to 1990, he studied drama directing at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts. He later continued his education at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts in Moscow, studying in Mark Zakharov’s workshop from 1989 to 1990.
In 2003–2004, Musaoglu participated in and won the program Development of Cinema in the South Caucasus Countries, organized by the Swiss company FOCAL in Tbilisi.
Career
Musaoglu began his professional career at the Jafar Jabbarli Azerbaijanfilm Film Studio and later worked at the Azerbaijantelefilm studio of Azerbaijan State Television (AZTV). Over the course of his career, he has written and directed more than 80 documentary and feature films.
His works have received awards at numerous international film festivals, and he has served as a jury member at several festivals. His most widely recognized feature films, The 40th Door (2008) and Nabat (2014), have both garnered international acclaim.
In 2005, Musaoglu founded the production company Sinema Evi. His first feature-length film, The 40th Door, won the Gold Remi Award for Best Foreign Film at the 42nd WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in 2009.
In 2014, Nabat premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 71st Venice International Film Festival and was later included on the long list for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
In 2017, Musaoglu founded the Young Filmmakers Club, which brought together young film professionals educated abroad as well as aspiring filmmakers interested in cinema. Over several years, the club’s members produced four short films and one feature-length film, all of which later received awards at international festivals.
Musaoglu’s most recent major work, Maryam, was produced in 2022. The screenplay received TRT’s 12 Punto Award in 2021.
He currently serves as the director of the Telefilm studio at Azerbaijan State Television.
Awards
2006 – Glass Toys - Al Jazeera International Television Production Festival – (winner The Golden Award).
