

What if your fake horror movie's monster showed up for casting call?
A group of young people decide to make a horror film about a character named Alajen (myth) in Lankaran. This is when Alajen becomes real. Can these young people make friends with Alajen, or do they leave the filming and return to Baku?
Direction
Tahirsoy juggles three tones without dropping a single ball
Writing
Self-aware script roasts indie horror while becoming one
Production
Lankaran villages look gorgeously cursed on presumably zero budget

Director
Zaur Tahirsoy
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Alajen draws from Lankaran's distinct Talysh folklore, rarely depicted in Azerbaijani cinema. The region's misty coastal mountains practically play a lead role.
The film-within-a-film structure mirrors Azerbaijan's emerging indie scene — the director previously worked in government TV before going rogue.
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