Valverde to Star in the Epic Love Story “Ali & Nino”

Maria Valverde is ready for a high profile Romeo & Juliet-esque project…

The 27-year-old Spanish actress, who recently starred in Exodus: Gods And Kings, has signed on to star in the coveted role of Nino in epic love story Ali & Nino.

Maria Valverde

She’ll join the previously announced Adam Bakri (Omar) in director Asif Kapadia’s (Senna) big-screen adaptation of Kurban Said’s best-selling Azerbaijan-set novel about two star-crossed lovers.

The story begins in the melting pot of Baku at the turn of the 20th century. Ali is a Muslim, with his warrior ancestors’ passion for the desert; and Nino is a Christian Georgian girl with sophisticated European ways. The childhood sweethearts find their lives interrupted when WW1 breaks out and Baku’s oil becomes the focus of Russia’s vie for power. As the war plays out and control of the Caucuses changes hands, Ali and Nino find themselves swept up in Azerbaijan’s fight for independence.

Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) wrote the script.

Principal photography will commence in Azerbaijan and Turkey next month.

Valverde won a Goya Award for her film debut, La Flaqueza del Bolchevique.

 

Valverde to Star in the Action-Thriller “400 Boys”

Maria Valverde will be participating in the ultimate battle between the young and the old…

The 25-year-old Spanish actress has signed on to star in British writer/director Alastair Paton’s action movie 400 Boys, which is billed as a fast-paced thriller set amid a youth subculture.

Maria Valverde

Paton’s project is described as “a race against time where the old are trapped in worn out bodies and the young fear life more than death and a battle between old and young commences.”

Valverde—who won Spain’s Goya Award for Best Actress as a teenager for her work in La flaqueza del bolchevique—forms part of the eclectic international cast that includes Canadian actress Jodelle Ferland (Twilight Saga:  Eclipse, The Cabin in the Woods, Tideland), Elliot Knight (Sinbad), Charlie Rowe (Neverland), German actress Chiara von Galli and Lucy Boynton (Miss Potter, Sense & Sensibility), as well as former French international World Cup-winning soccer star-turned-actor Frank Lebeouf (Taking Sides), Chinese actress BingBing Li (Resident Evil:  Retribution) and pop sensation Karena NG.

400 Boys scheduled to begin shooting in October. The movie, which is set for an eight-week shoot, will film on location in Hong Kong, Macau and at Guangzhou’s ACE Studios in China.

The title has already secured a 6,500 screen release in China through Pegasus Motion Pictures Distribution and a number of key international territories are sold including Spain, Latin America, France and French-speaking Canada, Australia, Germany, Scandinavia, Benelux and Eastern Europe.

We loved the director’s vision and the material was fresh, pacy and exciting,” said China Hollywood Film & Television Entertainment‘s Ricky Tong. “This movie is for the youth audience worldwide.”

Pegasus Motion Pictures Distribution’s Raymond Wong added: “It’s an original story, a great script, is fast, has a young cast and with a 16-30 target audience, it’s the perfect film for us to release in China.”