40-CI QAPI

In Azerbaijan, not far from the capital Baku, lies the village of forty doors where, just like in the fairy tale, the fortieth door conceals a secret.

Fourteen-year-old Rustam leads a relatively carefree existence with his mother in one of the more humble houses. That is until the news breaks that his father has been murdered by the mafia in Russia. Now he has to assume responsibility for his family and earn money so that the only valuable memento, a carpet, needn't be sold. Although his mother has her reservations Rustam starts to search for a job in nearby Baku. In the process he exposes himself to a new and dangerous world, where he hooks up with dubious friends, finds himself in the middle of competing claims of rival youth gangs and ultimately discovers his dream: he wants to become a drummer. When a friend is caught by the police it's Rustum who cares for his blind younger brother.

The story is told in an almost naive, quite effortless documentary fashion by means of very observant camera work. The style is reminiscent, in its touching proximity to the characters and the compassionate attitude taken towards the subject matter, to the classics of neorealist film. Thus Azerbaijan appears to the viewer in a new, immediate light.