‘When the Persimmons Grew – Hilal Baydarov’

In a village in Azerbaijan, a lonely mother is waiting for her son. The endless ticking of the clock sets the rhythm of her life as she stares at old black-and-white photos on the wall. Outside the dogs bark and a car is pulled along by three oxen, but above all there is silence. Until her son finally arrives by train and it is persimmon harvest season again: the family reunion is blissful, but all too brief…
In a meditative and poetic documentary without commentary, filmmaker Hilal Baydarov not only sketches an intimate and moving portrait of his mother, but also explores what it means to “come home.” He draws his own conclusion in one of the many philosophical conversations with his mother: “Home is a place where you can feel the time pass.”

Hilal Baydarov was born in 1987 in Baku, Azerbaijan. After a master in computer sciences, he left for Sarajevo to study film directing with Bela Tarr. His debut feature film Hills without names was premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in 2018. When the Persimmons Grew is Baydarov's third feature film which premiered in competition at the Visions du réel film festival in Nyon.