TEHRAN -- Iranian actor Babak Karimi has won the Best Performer award at Italy’s Ortigia Film Festival for his role in Balcanica, the debut feature from Italian filmmaker Nicola Sorcinelli.
Karimi shared the award with Ivar Wafaei, who plays his son in the film. The joint honor was announced at the 18th edition of the Ortigia Film Festival, held Sept. 20-26 in Syracuse, Sicily. The festival jury recognized the two actors for their performances as an Afghan father and son forced to flee their country after music is banned under the Taliban.
In Balcanica, Karimi plays Nazar, an Afghan orchestra conductor, while Wafaei portrays his tuba-playing son, Jalil. Their journey along the Balkan route brings them into contact with Greta, an Italian doctor played by Matilda De Angelis. Giovanni Toscano also stars.
Written by Sorcinelli and Andrea Brusa, Balcanica was shot entirely in Serbia. The film is an Italian-Serbian co-production involving Nightswim and Wildside, with Serbian co-production from This and That Productions.
Balcanica premiered at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in the Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days) section, marking Sorcinelli’s feature directorial debut.
Karimi is best known internationally for his collaborations with acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, including A Separation and The Salesman, as well as films such as The Past and Fish & Cat. His international credits also include Edoardo Ponti’s The Life Ahead, in which he starred alongside Sophia Loren.