Rustam Ibragimbekov (1939-2022) was born in Baku, Azerbaijan. An internationally renowned and multi-award-winning screenwriter, dramatist and producer, he held state awards for contributions to the arts from both Azerbaijan and Russia. His writing credits include more than 40 film and television scripts, as well as plays and prose. Close to Eden (1991) won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and a European Film Award for Best Film of the Year, and was nominated for an Oscar. In 1994 Burnt by the Sun was awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes and an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. A stage version of Burnt by the Sun, adapted by the playwright and screenwriter Peter Flannery (Our Friends in the North, The Devil's Whore), was performed at the National Theatre in London in spring 2009.