
Novruz Hikmet
Directing
Biography
Born in 1989 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Novruz graduated as a director at Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts. Since 2010 he has been living and working in Kyiv, Ukraine in the film industry and commercials as a director and 1stAD. He has directed independent short films, which participated at international festivals. In 2021 performed as an actor in one of the main roles in the feature film LA PALISIADA (2022) . Since 2015 has been an active member of the organization "Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema". He is known for MARIA (2017), QARA (2014) and SAKURA (2013). His documentary WHILE IT`S QUIET HERE (2022) was selected at Sarajevo FF.
Known For

An ex-MI6 agent is thrown back into the world of espionage and high stakes to uncover the shocking truth about operations conducted by unknown secret services.
Legacy of Lies

Twenty-five-year-old Vadym earns a living recording and selling all kinds of different sounds; nevertheless, he’d rather exchange his life in Kyiv for a better future in far-flung Canada. Thus, when he gets a generous job offer which might help him realise his dream, he jumps at the chance; he soon sets off to record the sounds of animals indigenous to Ukraine and also a rare bird native to the Carpathians. The situation proves somewhat more complicated when Vadym’s companion on the trip turns out to be his mother… To the sounds of a synthesized music score, debuting Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich unfolds a visually creative road movie, in which he demonstrates a highly unusual talent for constructing tragicomic situations.
My Thoughts Are Silent

Having lost his oldest son in the war between Russia and Ukraine, Mustafa resolves to bring the boy’s body to the land of his birth: Crimea. Together, he and his younger son set out on a journey that will profoundly mark their relationship.
Homeward

Ukraine, 1996. 5 months before the moratorium on capital punishment, two old friends, a police detective and a forensic psychiatrist, investigate a murder of their colleague. Long time ago, both of them were in love with the widow of the deceased. Immersed in the complicated case and long forgotten memories, they create a future where their children have to live, inheriting unrealized aspirations of their parents.
La Palisiada

What is the stranger you have picked up on the side of the road thinking? Maybe he knows what you think? Shot in Baku with non-professional actors, this project was born by chance when the director met with Sarkhan and Sabir, the two protagonists of the movie. This short film offers us the chance to watch a few hours of the strange fate of a young man linked to a criminal association.
Black

The meaning of the main character's life is the cultivation of flowers. His fragile harmony is disturbed by the sudden death in the neighborhood and the same sudden appearance of a young woman. To dampen his growing interest in his new neighbor, the hero tries to concentrate even more on his plants, which for him are the model of an ideal world. But his train is irresistible.
Sakura

Another visit to the doctor happens to be unsuccessful for Maria. Her marriage is on the verge of destruction. Deceiving her husband, she gradually realizes that she lives in a lie, and increasingly retreats into herself to look for forgotten answers.
Maria

Docufiction about a young couple what are torn from the world for one long night in a hotel room in a town near the border. That night they agreed not to talk about the war. Completely lost in each other' s small world, they don't realize when the morning comes and force them to go back to reality.
It Is Quiet Here
Amir is an immigrant who has lived in Ukraine for a long time and works as a translator. He is trying to save his relationship with his young daughter after a difficult divorce. Experiencing an identity crisis, he gets lost in a whirlwind of one-night stands and parties. Anticipating war, his ex-wife takes their daughter to Europe. Amir is forced to make a quick decision: stay, return to his homeland, or become an immigrant again.
HardSub
Azerbaijani short film.