Post by Nikolaj Nikitin

Last month, I found myself exactly where stories want to begin—inside YARAT Contemporary Art Space, in the luminous heartbeat of Baku ❤️ I arrived to teach. I left inspired. This spark was lit by Ru Hasanov, SOFA - School of Film Advancement alum, force of nature, and a builder of futures. With bold vision and relentless care, he founded ARKA — Azərbaycan Respublikasının Kino Agentliyi, and now a one-year film school that feels less like a program and more like a promise! Rufat is exactly why SOFA once existed—and why it mattered. For over a decade, we believed in people who don’t wait for doors to open—they build them. His journey is not an exception. It’s a signal. A reminder that when you invest deeply in minds and courage, the echo travels far. Even now, after closing that chapter, the resonance remains—messages, gratitude, quiet proof that something lasting was set in motion. More stories will follow… 😉 And none of it—none—would have happened without the fierce, generous brilliance of our team and mentors. Carrying all of that spirit in one name: our managing director Miroslav Mogorovic. Thank you—for the backbone, the belief, the fire 🙏 And then—YARAT 🥳 A room full of sharp, restless, luminous filmmakers—some emerging, some already carving their place. We spoke about international distribution, about navigating careers, about staying human in an industry that often forgets to be. But truthfully? It didn’t feel like teaching. It felt like ignition. Being the first international guest lecturer in this space was an honor that landed deeply. So did the conversations, the curiosity, the laughter—in multiple languages, all alive and dancing. So thanks so much to Ru, Katya, Fidan Amrahli-Seyidbeyli, and Aysel Abdullazade for inviting me 🙏 And outside those walls—Baku. A city that doesn’t whisper, it glows. Old soul, new pulse. A place where friendships are rekindled, and time stretches just enough to remind you why you fell in love with this industry in the first place. And the food—what a revelation. Rich, generous, unforgettable—every bite a celebration. 😉 To the participants—here is a selection of the incredible talents present on LinkedIn: Hasanagha Mammadov Joshgun Suleymanov Afet Guliyeva Orkhan Iskandarli Elnara Azimova Nargiz Ibrahimova Nigar Rahmanova You are not “upcoming.” You are already arriving. Keep going. Stay bold. Stay impossible to ignore. I’ll be watching—along with the rest of the festival circuit. ✨