In the early 1990s, when tremendous changes were taking place in the public and political life of Azerbaijan and an urgent need arose for an independent assessment of the processes taking place in the field of culture, the secretariat of the Board of the Union of Cinematographers decided to initiate a competition of Azerbaijani national films. The professional cinema community had to assess the films created in the country and recognize the merits of cinema workers.

The first competition was held in 1991, the second in 1993 and the third in 1995. In the mid1990s, Azerbaijani cinema was experiencing serious difficulties, a period of stagnation, so the competition was suspended for objective reasons. It was resumed only eight years later, in 2003. Then the jury evaluated the films released in 1995-2002. Also in 2003, the competition received the name of Qızıl Çıraq (“golden lamp”), an organizing committee of was set up and the Qızıl Çıraq figurine was designed by People’s Artist Mais Agabayov.

The Fifth National Film Awards Qızıl Çıraq were held on 2 August 2006.