Elchin Hami Akhundov

Elchin Hami Akhundov (Elchin Akhundov / Elchin Hami) was born in Baku.

He studied at the Azerbaijan State Art School named after Azim Azimzade (1968), at the two-year "animation artist" course at the "Azerbaijanfilm" film studio, and at the Graphics Faculty of the Lviv Polygraphy Institute (1978).

Since 1966, he has been working in the field of cinema as a production designer, animator, and director. For some time, he was the artistic director (1994-2012) and director (2000-2012) of the "Azanfilm" animation film studio. He is an artist and director of many animated films.

Since 2016, he has been the founder and head of the "Gurama" Children's Animation Studio. He is a co-founder of the Azerbaijan Animation Association. He is the author of the “Do It Yourself” series for young children (“Arshin Mal Alan”, “Let It Not Be, Let It Be”), the “Your First Book” series (“Learn Step by Step and Work Hard”, “Ecological Alphabet”), etc. He has been a member of the jury of international animation festivals.

He was awarded the “Golden Lamp” award, the “Unknown Cinema” festival award, the “Gizig Kayig” award for his contribution to Azerbaijani animation at the II Animafilm International Animation Festival (2019), and the “For Contribution to the Development of Animation” award at the Tashkent International Animation Forum (2022).

He is an Honored Cultural Worker (2000).