On the occasion of June 15 – National Salvation Day, the feature film “Old Suitcases”, directed by Saida Haqverdiyeva, was screened in the city of Adana, Turkey.
The film was presented to a wide audience at an event organized through the coordination of Sanem Arikan, Head of the Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey and Chair of the Adana Branch of the Police Spouses Association, in joint cooperation with the Adana Culture and Tourism Directorate and the Adana Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Turkey.
Following the screening, the film’s screenwriter and director, Saida Haqverdiyeva, was presented with the “2026 Global Contribution to Peace Award,” established by the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police Spouses Association. At the same time, special plaques were awarded to the members of the film’s creative team.
Mevlüt Karakaya, Deputy Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party and Member of Parliament for Ankara, who attended the event alongside members of parliament, public figures, representatives of law enforcement agencies, as well as families of martyrs and veterans, stated that such cultural events once again confirm the unbreakable fraternal relations, shared memory, and common destiny between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The MP continued his speech with these thoughts: “The flag waving in Shusha is not only the pride of Azerbaijan but the common pride of the entire Turkic world. This film reminds us that a nation may lose its land, but as long as it does not lose its memory, faith, and will for freedom, it will rise again and reclaim its land. After more than thirty years of longing, Karabakh has regained its freedom. This victory is an epic of patience, faith, and the spirit of unity.”
Sanem Arikan, Chair of the Adana Branch of the Police Spouses Association, stated that she watched the film with great emotion. She commemorated the dear memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Karabakh and expressed her respect for the veterans and their families.
Thanking the film’s creative team, Arikan emphasized in her speech that Azerbaijan and Turkey are two brotherly states that draw strength from the same history, language, and cultural roots, and are one in both sorrow and joy.
“If a stone hits the foot of one of our brothers in Karabakh, our hearts ache here too. Even though we live under different flags, as Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh expressed, we are branches of the same plane tree sprouting from the same root,” Arikan concluded.
Aygün Attar, Chair of the Turkey-Azerbaijan Friendship, Cooperation and Solidarity Foundation (TADIV), noted in her speech that the film “Old Suitcases” poignantly and fully depicts the traces left by war on human lives, especially the pain and spiritual trauma experienced by Azerbaijani women. She described the film as a tribute to the heroes of our righteous war and expressed her gratitude to the creative team, as well as to everyone who contributed to the high-level organization of the screening in Adana.
Adana City Police Chief Ahmet Hakan Arikan and Adana Culture and Tourism Director Emre Duru, who also spoke at the event, paid tribute to the memory of the Karabakh martyrs and veterans and congratulated the film’s creative team.
Finally, director Saida Haqverdiyeva stated that “Old Suitcases” was created based on the life stories of ordinary people, especially women, who were forced into war. According to the author, the film conveys the heavy traces, losses, and hopes left by the war on human destinies through an artistic lens.
The director noted that the high-level reception of the film in Adana, following its screening in Ankara, is another manifestation of the strong fraternal ties, shared moral values, and cultural solidarity existing between Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The screening of the film “Old Suitcases” in Adana once again demonstrated that art is one of the most effective means of building bridges between peoples and keeping shared history and memory alive. The film is an important cultural event both in terms of conveying the truths about Karabakh to an international audience and strengthening the Azerbaijan-Turkey brotherhood.
