Film poster of The Son
Filmed over a period of three years, filmmaker Karan Singh spoke to witnesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Italy and Russia in his search for the truth.
FARGO, U.S.A., November 16, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — A new documentary film highlights the human tragedy of missing prisoners of war. The Son, directed by Karan Singh, investigates the disappearance of a young prisoner of war, Natig Gasimov, during the first Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1992.
The Son is part of the official selection at the fifth annual North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival that is taking place in Fargo from November 2nd to 18th.
The film uses unpublished photos taken by Italian war photographer Enrico Sarsini, who covered the conflict for Russia’s Ogoniok magazine. He was present with Armenian forces at their siege of a strategically-located church near Agdam that was defended by Gasimov, a 19-year-old Azerbaijani volunteer.
After Gasimov surrendered in exchange for the lives of Azerbaijani hostages captured in Khojali, he was then interrogated by Armenian forces. Sarsini’s photos of this interrogation show the Armenian officers and soldiers present. But once Sarsini had to leave to return to Moscow, the young Azerbaijani prisoner of war disappeared and was never heard of again.
The 46-minute documentary finds out what happened to Gasimov and who may be responsible for his disappearance. Filmed over a period of three years, the filmmaker spoke to witnesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Italy and Russia in his search for the truth. Singh travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was under Armenian control at the time, to meet local Armenian officials and to track down the church defended by Gasimov.
“This film looks at a forgotten conflict of the 1990s, seen through the eyes of ordinary people caught up in this brutal war on the eastern edge of Europe. Thousands are still listed as missing,” said the film’s director Singh.
The London-based filmmaker met the family of Gasimov in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja, who still believe that he is alive and will return. The film shows a particularly emotional moment when Gasimov’s mother sees the last photos taken of her son by Sarsini.
“This is a universal story that transcends the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. People everywhere can relate to this story of a grieving family denied closure, of a mother waiting for her son for over almost three decades,” Singh pointed out.
The Son held its world premiere in July at the Whistleblower Film Festival, an annual festival held in Washington D.C. to highlight civil and human rights violations across the globe.
Karan Singh
Broken Pot Media Ltd.
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