Having studied at Béla Tarr’s Film Factory in Sarajevo, Hilal Baydarov’s filmmaking career started only in 2018, yet in four years he has prolifically made eight films that have screened at festivals such as Venice, IDFA, Visions du Réel and Sarajevo. 

When the Persimmons Grew is Baydarov’s fourth feature documentary and the first film in the Katech trilogy, which explores the relationship between time, home and belonging. A mother waits for her son in a solitary home of an Azerbaijani village. When the son finally arrives, it is time for the persimmon harvest season. As they grow closer after a long time apart, words and laughter start to emerge from the silence. Poetic and involving, Baydarov’s film is an extraordinary meditation on time in life and in cinema.

 

This screening is a UK Premiere and part of Atlas of Belonging: Memory and Identity in the Cinema and Artists’ Moving Image. A season that presents a series of screenings and a round table discussion, exploring the relationship between liminal locations, identity and memory in the Caucus region. It is curated by Galya Stepanova in partnership with the NFTS Curating, Ciné Lumière and the ICA.

The ICA also screens a double bill of Taus Makhachava’s work earlier in the day.

£8 Full, £6 Concessions, £4 Green/Blue Members 

A multibuy offer is available to attend both programmes for the price of £13.

Red Members gain unlimited FREE access to all exhibitions, films, talks, concerts and performances. Join today for £20/month

Face coverings are compulsory in the Cinemas. More on COVID-19 safety