BIOGRAPHY

Gioacchino Balistreri, is an Italian director, screenwriter, composer of soundtracks and theatre music living in Switzerland. He regularly performs in the LAC multicultural center of Lugano, where he carries out workshops on the world of the orchestra and soundtracks. He obtained a master degree in Music and Arts from A. Scarlatti Conservatory in Palermo, graduating with full marks as a pianist. He studied “Music Composition for Film” at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, under the guidance of the Academy Award-winning Maestro Luis Bacalov. In 2010 he completed a Master of Arts from the Department of Education and Learning in Locarno (CH). Among his latest works as a composer are the original score for the film Reinas by Klaudia Reynicke, co-signed with the director herself, selected by Switzerland for the 2025 Academy Awards®. In 2024, The film won the Grand Prix for Best Film at the Berlinale in the Kplus category, the Prix du Public UBS at the Locarno Film Festival, Best Screenplay at the Festival du Cine de Lima, and it was in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. He composed the theme for Tramp Limited, the production company founded by Salvo Ficarra, Valentino Picone, and Attilio De Razza. He also composed the original scores for all the animated short films by Nico Bonomolo, including Maestrale, produced by Tramp Limited in collaboration with Studio Rain, winner of the 2022 David di Donatello Award for Best Short Film, for which he received the Best Original Score award at Cine Lido in Rome. The film was included in the shortlist for the 2023 Academy Awards®. He also composed the original music for Bonomolo’s Confino, produced by Lucky Red, nominated for both the David di Donatello and the Golden Globes, and winner of the Giffoni Experience and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The film also made the long list for the 2018 Academy Awards®. For Bonomolo, he also scored Detours, which received a special mention at the Nastri d’Argento. He composed the music for three plays directed by Mauro Avogadro: Eichmann – Where the night begins by Stefano Massini, with Ottavia Piccolo and Paolo Pierobon, co-produced by Bolzano and Veneto Repertory Theaters, Fine Pena: Ora, written by Paolo Giordano, with Paolo Pierobon and Sergio Leone, produced by Piccolo Teatro in Milan, sold out record with 13,000 spectators in just 26 reruns, and The Blind by M. Maeterlinck, an Accademia Silvio d’Amico production that premiered at Spoleto Festival 2019. He also composed the original soundtracks for the Nico Bonomolo animated shorts movies Confined, produced by Lucky Red, candidate for David di Donatello and Golden Globes, winner of the Giffoni Experience, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and inserted in the long list for the 2018 Academy Awards®, and Detours, special mention at the Nastri d’Argento. His latest film as director, screenwriter, and composer, Jolly, featuring Remo Girone and Rosario Tedesco, produced by Central Productions in Lugano in collaboration with RSI, the Federal Office of Culture, and the Ticino Film Commission, won the award for Best Original Score al the 2025 Pianob Film Festival and it was selected at the Los Angeles Italia Festival 2025, at I-Fest 2024 and at the Ferrara Film Festival 2024 in the Best International Short Film category. His previous short film as director, screenwriter, and composer, De Angelis, starring Giulio Brogi and Vladimir Randazzo, distributed by Premiere Film in 2020, received a special mention at the Prato Film Festival 2021. His first documentary as a director, écoute-moi Quartamedia, was presented at the Castellinaria Youth Film Festival in 2018 by Giancarlo Zappoli, director of MyMovies. He conducts annual workshops on film scores and short film production at the Locarno Film Festival.

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