Mirbala Salimli was born on April 5, 1963, in the village of Gubali, in what is now Hajigabul district. In 1985 he graduated with honours from the Film and Drama Acting Department of the M. A. Aliyev Azerbaijan State Institute of Arts; in 1995, from the Theatre Directing Department of the B. V. Shchukin Moscow Higher Theatre School; and in 2001, from the Film Directing Department of the Moscow Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors. He is a student of the renowned Russian film director Aleksei Yurievich German and gained practical experience on German's film "Hard to Be a God". In 2003–2004, within the framework of the AVANTI programme (Switzerland), he took master classes from film director K. Zanussi (Poland) and screenwriter D. Benka (Germany); in 2006–2007, within the framework of the IFA-SC programme (Switzerland), he took master classes from screenwriter Claire Downes (Great Britain). He has worked at the Sheki State Drama Theatre since 1985 and currently serves as its chief director. As a theatre director he has staged more than 30 dramatic works considered gems of Azerbaijani and world dramaturgy. For his staging of Jean-Baptiste Molière's comedy "The Miser", he received the "Golden Dervish" award (2009) established by the Azerbaijan Union of Theatre Workers; for his production of Ilyas Afandiyev's "The Lovers' Reunion in Hell", the "Zirvə" ("Summit") award (2014) established by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture; and for his production of Haldun Taner's "...And the Mill Would Turn", the Haldun Taner Medal (2015) established by TURKSOY. Since 2000 he has collaborated with the "Mir Iskusstva" ("World of Art") creative association in Moscow, where he has directed, written, and shot more than 20 documentary films, earning diplomas at international festivals. In 2002, as film director and screenwriter, he made the short feature film "Embraced by Fire" at the "Debut" studio, which was shown at numerous international festivals and film forums (France, Hungary, Russia, Tajikistan, and others). In 2007, at the "Yaddash" ("Memory") documentary film studio, he made the documentary "Sheki — Patterns of History", which was screened at international festivals in France and Turkey. In 2016 he directed "The Red Garden", a co-production of the Azerbaijanfilm and VayTMedia (Russia) studios. The film received the "Best Feature Film" award in the "Spiritual Films" competition programme at the 15th Dakka International Film Festival, the "L. I. Gaidai Best Feature Film" award at the 17th Baikal International Film Festival in Russia, and, at Turkey's Trabzon International Film Festival, three "Altın Kemençe" awards for the lead performers (Gulzar Gurbanova, Best Actress; Maqsud Mammadov, Best Actor; and Taleh Badiyev, the Jury's Special Award for his acting in the film). The film was also nominated for Best Film in the CIS and Baltic States category of Russia's 30th "Nika" award, and in 2018 it received the "Golden Fairy" award of the Azerbaijan Film Academy for "Best Feature-Length Debut Film", as well as an award from the Azerbaijan Filmmakers' Union for the film's outstanding artistic solutions. On May 9, 2012, he was awarded the honorary title of Honoured Art Worker. He was awarded the Presidential Prize on April 30, 2009, and again on April 30, 2014, May 6, 2015, May 6, 2016, May 1, 2017, May 9, 2018, May 10, 2019, and May 7, 2020.
