Actor Homayoun Ershadi has been cast in ‘Ali and Nino,’ a British film in which 12 Iranians have also performed a stunt act along with others.
The 2015 production was shot in Azerbaijan and Turkey and is directed by Asif Kapadia.
Christopher Hampton, Portuguese screenwriter who has written the script, is known for ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ (1988) and ‘Atonement’ (2007). It is based on a novel of the same name originally published in 1937, and is now found in more than 33 languages.
The film’s cast is international, with Spanish Maria Valverde and Palestinian Adam Bakri in the lead roles, ISNA reported.
The story centers on Ali and Nino, teenagers from upper-class families living in Azerbaijan just before World War I. Ali (Bakri) is Muslim and Nino (Valverde) Christian, but they love each other and marry despite the opposition from their parents. The war breaks out and things turn for the worse.
Ershadi acts as Ali’s father.
Expressionless
Born in Isfahan, Iran, Ershadi, 68, studied architecture in Italy. Acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami chose him to play the lead role in ‘Taste of Cherry’ (1997), which won the Palme d’Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
A non-professional actor, who started acting in middle age, he has achieved success in both cinema and television, with his expressionless, calm face and monotonous voice often giving his characters an intellectual personality.
He has acted in foreign productions such as Marc Forster’s critically acclaimed drama ‘The Kite Runner’ (2007), adapted from the novel by Afghan author Khaled Hosseini; Kathryn Bigelow’s ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (2012); and ‘A Most Wanted Man’ (2014) with the late actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Stunts
Forty stuntmen from the US, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran have performed the stunts. Amir Badri was in charge of the Iranian stuntmen.
Badri and his group have performed in different scenes, from jumping great heights to horse riding. He has also designed the war scenes.
For outstanding action performances, Badri, 25, who is a member of Tehran-based group ‘Stunt 13’ has been lauded at international events such as 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG). The group including two stuntmen and a stuntwoman along with 100 other stuntmen, was hailed for performing some daredevil stunts in the 2012 James Bond action flick ‘Skyfall’.
‘Stunt 13’ also won the first prize in the ‘jumping by car’ section in the international festival of professional stuntmen, Prometheus 2014, in Russia.
Badri has performed stunts in several Iranian series and movies such as Masoud Kimiai’s ‘Crime’ and ‘Metropole’, Hooman Seyedi’s ‘13’ and Marzieh Borumand’s ‘City of Mice 2,’ an all-time hit.
