Arif Haji oglu Babayev (Azerbaijani: Arif Hacı oğlu Babayev) – was an Azerbaijani film director and Honored Art Worker of the Azerbaijan SSR (1964).

Biography

Arif Babayev was born on September 20, 1938 in Baku. The Babayevs’ family lived on Qala Street, in Icheri Sheher. Arif attended theatrical circles in childhood. His engagement in theater led him to a theatrical school. Until then he played walk-on parts on “Malikmammad”, “Garaja giz” and “Ibrat” spectacles. In 1946, the Azerbaijan State Theatrical Institute was created on the basis of the theatrical school. Arif Babayev entered director faculty and studied in class of a famous pedagogue, director and actor Mehdi Mammadov. Mehdi Mammadov entrusted Gorodnichev’s piece from N.V.Gogol’s “The Government Inspector” to Arif Babayev. In 1953, Arif Babayev graduated from the institute and was sent to Nakhchivan Theater according to job placement. In this theater he staged on N.V.Gogol’s “Marriage” spectacle. He returned to Baku after some period of time and began to work as a stage director at the Theater of Young Spectators.

On February 14, 1956 the first program was gone on the air of the Azerbaijani Television. Arif Babayev was invited to work on TV. In 1956, he shot his first documentary film “Children of our city” and marked the dawn of Azerbaijani Television Film. In 1959, he was appointed the chief director of the Azerbaijani Television. In these years he shot a number of documentaries, staged on television spectacles such as “Moabit notebooks” by Musa Cälil, “Blind woman” by Taras Shevchenko, “Law” by Rasul Rza and “Morning” by Mehdi Huseyn.

In 1964, he became the first television worker in Azerbaijan, who was conferred “Honored Art Worker” title. He was invited to “Azerbaijanfilm” film studio in the same year. In 1964, he shot short “Summit” film – one of the novels of “Whom do we love more” film-almanac - to Imran Gasimov’s script. That was the first from 9 films shot by the director.