Ilgar Najaf was born on 2 March 1975 in the Ararat district of the Armenian SSR. In 1988 he was forced to leave the region together with his family and moved to Azerbaijan. He continued his education at School No. 12 in Sumgayit. He studied film and television directing at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts (1993–1997). In 2003, within the framework of the International 'Avanti' project organised by the Swiss organisation FOCAL, he completed film directing courses led by director Krzysztof Zanussi. In 2005 he founded the film company 'Buta Film'.
