Siyavush Mammad oghlu Shafiyev was born on 1 September 1937. Achieving success in sports from his school years, Siyavush was a winner of various boxing competitions. His artistic fate was determined by Moscow. Having come to Moscow on a trip, S. Shafiyev unexpectedly submitted his documents to the All-Union Circus School. After earning a qualification in acrobatics, S. Shafiyev was sent to "Soyuzcirk" upon graduation. Working there with well-known performers of the Moscow circus, Siyavush soon became a professional in his craft. He began to be accepted among Russia's circus performers. In 1972 S. Shafiyev was sent to Baku as the artistic director of the newly opened circus in the city. The circus programmes he staged in Baku gained great popularity at the time. After working there for several years, S. Shafiyev was called back to Moscow and appointed stage director of the famous "Circus on Stage" Association. Having also tested himself as a circus director, Siyavush attracted the attention of film directors. He appeared for the first time in the film "Where Is Ahmad?" After the film was released, director Adil Iskandarov faced harsh criticism from Soviet censorship. Learning of the criticism of the film, which was characterised as "rich in bourgeois-philistine elements," Siyavush said "I was cast in vain." However, years later the film was embraced by audiences and became a cult film of Azerbaijan. S. Shafiyev used to say: "I am satisfied with my fate. It's a good thing Adil muallim cast me for this role." In interviews about the film, Siyavush Shafiyev often recalled this incident: "The scene where Ahmad runs away from home was being filmed. I had to jump from the window into the neighbouring yard, then climb over the fence and escape. At that moment a dog from the neighbouring yard was supposed to run at me. On the very first take the dog actually bit me. I was terrified. Adil muallim said, 'Qada, this scene will be shot 10 to 15 times, and if this dog bites Siyavush every time, there'll be nothing left of him...' and put the dog on a chain. If you watch the film closely, you can see the dog is chained." After this, S. Shafiyev created the character of the foreman Rustam in the film "The Last Night of Childhood," based on Maqsud Ibrahimbayov's screenplay. The film won an award at a festival held in Georgia. Later, S. Shafiyev created the character of journalist Altay in the film "The Most Important Interview." Siyavush Shafiyev was a member of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR. In 1990, after suffering a heart attack while on tour in France, Shafiyev left his profession. He never returned to the stage or the arts. He died in Moscow on 24 November 2001 and was buried in Yasamal Cemetery.
