Eldar Guliyev was born on 18 January 1941 in Baku. From 1960 to 1966 he studied at the directing faculty of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, in the class of Sergei Gerasimov. He has worked at the Azerbaijanfilm film studio since 1967. He made his first short film, Once There Was, Once There Wasn't..., and is the author of a considerable number of feature and documentary films. He established himself with his first full-length work, In a Southern City, in 1969, laying the foundation for a new stage in Azerbaijani cinema with this film. In 1979 he made the film Babek, which, in its level of professionalism and the scale of its crowd and battle scenes, was in no way inferior to films of this type produced abroad. In those years Babek was purchased by 52 countries. He also directed The Most Important Interview, Take Care, Girls..., Heart... Heart..., Nizami, How Beautiful This World Is..., Hostage, Flight to Istanbul, Notes of a Dervish, and other films. He was also the screenwriter of several films. A number of the films he made were awarded prizes at film festivals. He was a professor at the film department of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Baku International Multiculturalism Centre. Since 1987 Eldar Guliyev has led the "Debut" Experimental Youth Creative Studio. One of the most active figures of the Azerbaijan Guild of Professional Film Directors, Eldar Guliyev served as the Guild's president from the day of its founding. He was the son of composer Tofig Guliyev and the father of screenwriter Narmina Guliyeva. Eldar Guliyev suffered a heart attack on 18 January 2021. He received treatment for some time. The People's Artist passed away on 16 April 2021 at the Republican Treatment and Diagnostic Centre, where he was being treated. He was laid to rest at Yasamal Cemetery, beside the grave of his wife.
