Festival for a Southern City

6 hrs. 11 min.

Language Russian

Author Chingiz Abdullayev

Narrator Matrona Kulikova

At an international film festival in Baku, the scandalously famous Iranian director Hussein Mowsani—who emigrated to the UK due to persecution and threats at home—arrives as a guest of honor. In Iran, for the film “The Sufferings of a Prostitute,” he was sentenced to death, and a reward of two million dollars has been announced for whoever can carry out the sentence.

The festival organizers are flattered by the arrival of such a prominent person, but they understand that Mowsani is becoming an easy target for those who are eager to pull the trigger—for a far smaller fee. A high-profile murder is unlikely to benefit the event’s image.

To protect the star from attempts on his life, they invite another celebrity—Drongo, an expert analyst. But he doesn’t have time to prove himself: the crime has already been committed, and a corpse is found in the director’s room.

Only it turns out that the dead man is not Hussein Mowsani—someone else entirely…

1. Blue Angels (narrated by Tamara Shvets) 2. An Almost Impossible Murder (narrated by Vladimir Sushkov) 2. An Almost Incredible Murder (narrated by Dmitry Polyakov) 3. Drongo Is Silent, or Manhunt (narrated by Pavel Lomakin) 3. Manhunt (narrated by Tamara Shvets) 4. Games of Professionals (narrated by Tamara Shvets) 5. Waiting for the Apocalypse (narrated by Larisa Yurova) 6. The Professionals' Rule (narrated by Vladimir Sushkov) 6. The Rule of Professionals (narrated by Svetlana Sencheva) 7. Choose Your Death (narrated by Larisa Yurova) 7. Choose Your Death (narrated by Nina Volgina) 8. The Rules of Logic (narrated by Vyacheslav Gerasimov) 8. The Rules of Logic (narrated by Gennadiy Vorobyev) 9. Law of the Villains (narrated by Natalia Kashina) 10. Creed of the Scoundrels (narrated by Igor Murashko) 10. The Creed of Scoundrels (narrated by Dmitry Ivanov) 11. The Conscience of Villains (narrated by Igor Murashko) 12. The Shadow of Herod (narrated by Oleg Shitov) 13. Symphony of Darkness (narrated by Konstantin Solunsky) 14. Three Colors of Blood (narrated by Yury Zaborovsky) 14. Three Colors of Blood (narrated by Vdovich) 15. Charon's Fee (narrated by Vladimir Sushkov) 15. Payment to Charon (narrated by Supersan) 16. The Alligator Line (narrated by Yury Zaborovsky) 16. The Alligator Line (narrated by Inna Fidyanina-Zubkova) 17. Ocean of Hatred (narrated by Yury Zaborovsky) 17. Ocean of Hatred (narrated by Tatyana Vinter) 18. Always Yesterday's Tomorrow (narrated by Igor Murashko) 19. How Much Is a Billion Worth (narrated by Yury Zaborovsky) 21. The Mirror of Vampires (narrated by Vladimir Emelyanov) 21. Mirror of Vampires (narrated by Alexander Mironenko) 22. Symbols of Decay (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 22. Symbols of Decay (narrated by Roman Galdin) 23. The Ashes of Hope (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 24. The Style of a Scoundrel (narrated by Tatyana Nekrasova) 25. The Maniac's Mind (narrated by Andrey Voroshkevich) 26. The Burden of Idols (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 26. The Burden of Idols (narrated by Manya Nastina) 27. Tunnel of Ghosts (narrated by Svetlana Sencheva) 28. Day of Wrath (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 29. The Perfect Target (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 30. The Fear Factor (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 30. The Fear Factor (narrated by Vladimir Chernushkin) 31. The Hangman's Wisdom (narrated by Vyacheslav Manylov) 32. The Last Synclite (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 32. The Last Synclite (narrated by Lyudmila Sarzhan) 33. On God's Side (narrated by Vyacheslav Gerasimov) 34. The Abolished Ritual (narrated by Oleg Novikov) 35. Rendezvous with Balthasar (narrated by Kirill Petrov) 36. The Most Reliable (narrated by Galina Parmenova) 37. Death on Monte Mario Hill (narrated by Pavel Krab) 39. Stones of the Last Wall (narrated by Igor Murashko) 40. The Way of the Warrior (narrated by Pavel Apostolov) 41. Inverted Reality (narrated by Evgeny Kravchenko) 42. The Gorgon's Gaze (narrated by Viktoriya Sergeeva) 43. Acceptable Margin of Error (narrated by Yury Ivanov) 44. Flirt in Seville (narrated by Vera Vershinina) 45. The Resonator (narrated by Natalia Pariy) 46. Final Diagnosis (narrated by Svetik) 48. The Downfall of the Actor (narrated by Markiza) 49. Autumn Madrigal (narrated by Markiza) 50. When Elephants Die (narrated by Igor Murashko) 50. When Elephants Die (narrated by Pavel Apostolov) 51. The Magic Gift (narrated by Zoya Banketova) 51. The Magic Gift (narrated by Zoya Banketova) 52. His Apathy (narrated by Natalya Pekhen'ko) 53. Sunset in Lisbon (narrated by Markiza) 55. Angel of Pain: Journey Through the Apennines (narrated by Svyatoy) 56. Angel of Pain: Three Quarters of His Soul (narrated by Pavel Apostolov) 57. The Contact from Baghdad (narrated by Tatyana Nekrasova) 58. A Forgotten Dream (narrated by Fedor Subbotin) 59. Attempt on Power: The Subject of Power (narrated by Matrona Kulikova) 60. Attribute of Power (narrated by Rita Semenova) 61. Assassination of Power: The Object of Power (narrated by Tatyana Nekrasova) 63. A Gentlemen's Agreement (narrated by Gennadiy Vorobyev) 64. The Time of Our Fear (narrated by Natalya Dymochko) 65. The Power of the Mask (narrated by Oskar Valdman) 66. Cuban Capriccio (narrated by Markiza) 67. The Identity of Love and Hate (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 68. Study for Freud (narrated by Stepan Starchikov) 68. A Study for Freud (narrated by Irina Vedi) 70. Occam's Denial (narrated by Gennadiy Vorobyev) 71. The Burden of Sins (narrated by Dave) 72. A Shot at Christmas (narrated by Nadezhda Dyakova) 73. The Severed Connection (narrated by Yana Kacherovskaya) 74. In Defense of Common Sense (narrated by Anna Latysheva) 75. A Dilettante's Dream (narrated by Andrey Voroshkevich) 76. A Fakir for All Times (narrated by Dmitry Chistyakov) 77. Good Guys Don't Always Finish First (narrated by Igor Shvetsov) 79. Festival for a Southern City 80. Habitat (narrated by Manya Nastina) 81. The Second Birth of Venus (narrated by Tatyana Nekrasova) 82. Full House (narrated by Evgeniy Chzhan) 83. Designated Presence (narrated by Pavel Pechenkin) 84. A Decent Man (narrated by Tatyana Grudneva) 87. The House of Lonely Hearts (narrated by Nikolay Savitskiy) 87. The House of Lonely Hearts (narrated by Andrey Zverev) 88. Berlin Transit (narrated by Ilya Kiguradze) 89. Death Under Applause (narrated by Fedor Subbotin) 93. Adaptation of Conscience (narrated by Evgeny Kravchenko) 94. The Clan of the New Amazons (narrated by Galina Ponyatovskaya) 95. A Trip to Transylvania (narrated by Dave) 96. On the Edge of a Foul (narrated by Dmitry Ivanov) 98. A History of Immorality (narrated by Natasha Che) 100. The Birth of Lucifer (narrated by Pavel Krab) 102. The King's Pastime (narrated by Svetik) 103. Family Secrets (narrated by Mikhail Roslyakov) 103. Family Secrets (narrated by Din-Din) 105. Scaffold for a Top Model (narrated by Semyon Vashchenko) 105. Opponents of Europe (narrated by Vyacheslav Gerasimov) 106. The Rubicon's Lot (narrated by Strega) 108. The Detective's Transgression (narrated by Andrey Starodym) 110. The Valor of Giants (narrated by Vyacheslav Gerasimov) 110. The Valor of Giants (narrated by Tatyana Nekrasova) 111. The Court of the Unjust (narrated by Semyon Vashchenko) 112. The Magic of Lies (narrated by Sergey Zh.) 113. Victim of Common Sense (narrated by Pavel Krab) 114. The Golden Rule of Ethics (narrated by Yury Lekhanov) 116. The Test of Virtue (narrated by Yan Starzhinskiy) Balkan Syndrome (narrated by Pavel Apostolov) Day of Wrath (narrated by Dave) His True Passion (narrated by Svetik) The Boomerang Effect (narrated by Pavel Krab) On God's Side (narrated by Natalia Urbanskaya) The Custom of Dying (narrated by Konstantin Berezhnoy) A Pedestal for an Outsider (narrated by LanaFar) The Use of Lust (narrated by Alexander Mironenko) Price List for a Publisher (narrated by Natalia Pariy) Death of a Diplomat (narrated by Evgeny Kravchenko) The Secret of the Viennese Night (narrated by Galina Gorynya) Tribunal for Valencia (narrated by Oleg Shitov) Tribunal Over Valencia (narrated by Igor Tatyanin) The Golden Rule of Ethics (narrated by Semyon Vashchenko)