Hilal Baydarov was born in 1987 in Baku, Azerbaijan. After graduating with a Master’s degree in Computer Sciences, he left for Sarajevo to study film at Sarajevo Film Academy. He won the Docu Talent Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival for his second documentary film Birthday. His documentary When the Persimmons Grew received the Interreligious Award and a Special Jury Mention when it premiered at the 2019 Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon and it won the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Mother and Son premiered in the main competition at IDFA 2019. Baydarov’s second feature, In between Dying premiered in the main competition of the 2020 Venice Biennale Film Festival.