The Italian-Serbian co-production Balkanika, the debut feature film of the Italian director Nicola Sorcinelli, with Matilda De Angelis in the lead role, will have its world premiere in the competitive program of the 23rd edition of the Authors’ Day (Giornate degli Autori), which is held as part of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.

The film was entirely filmed in Serbia, and was shot during April and May 2026, mostly in Sjenica and on the Pešter Plateau, whose authentic landscapes became one of the key visual elements of the production.

The project was realized with the involvement of Serbian film crew, while the Serbian co-producer is the Belgrade production company This and That Productions. The film was supported by Film Center Serbia in the competition for co-financing the production of minority co-productions in 2024.

The Serbian co-production team was led by co-producer Snežana van Houwelingen, executive producer Milica Putnik Lukovac and film director Ivan Krstović. Key members of the Serbian creative team include director of photography Damjan Radovanović, set designer Dragana Baćović, sound recordist Filip Popadić and mask designer Višnja Karaulić.

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The film is set at a time when music was banned in Afghanistan. The conductor of an orchestra, played by Babak Karimi, and his son, a tuba player played by Ivar Vafaei, set out on the Balkan route in search of a new beginning. During a long and uncertain journey, their fates intersect with the fate of an Italian doctor, played by Matilda De Angelis, and that meeting changes their lives forever.

In addition to Matilda De Angelis, Babak Karimi and Ivar Vafaei, the cast also includes Giovanni Toscano.

Balkanika is a production between the Italian companies Nightswim and Wildside, a company within the Fremantle Group, in co-production with the Serbian company This and That Productions. The script was written by Nikola Sorcinelli and Andrea Brusa, and the film’s producers are Ines Vasiljević and Stefano Sardo.

After the world premiere in Venice, Balkanika will be shown in Serbian cinemas in the fall of 2026.

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