Nicola Sorcinelli discovered cinema while still in school, and right after that he went to work on film sets, on BTS shoots and as an AD to leading filmmakers. At the same time, he made short films selected for an array of international festivals, winning awards and making the Academy Awards Qualifying roster. Moby Dick earned him a Silver Ribbon and his next short, Ape Regina, was created with the collaboration of the NGO Emergency. Sorcinelli went on to make La confessione, nominated for both a Silver Ribbon and a David di Donatello in the same year. He also directed several episodes of the TV series Briganti e In utero. Balcanica is his first feature-length film.