Original score from the 2023 drama feature film directed by Sahim Omar Kalifa, starring Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah, Atheer Adel and Zahraa Ghandour, produced by A Team Productions, 10.80 Films, Column Film and Mitos Film, and released by The Searchers (Belgium).

THE STORY: In war-torn Iraq, a ten-year-old boy with a crippling injury has an unquenchable passion for football.

THE SCORE: “Baghdad Messi‘s music is a journey into the heart of Hamoudi’s feelings, this passionate young boy whose innocence and dreams are shattered by the violence of men. Our goal with director Sahim Omar Kalifa was to capture this contrast between the harshness of war and the resilience of childhood. The musical narrative, through its contrasts marked by the gentleness of the strings, the poetry of the duduk and oud, and the rhythmic percussion, takes us on a journey into the heart of Hamoudi’s emotions. The score, with its broad, Eastern influences, represents landscapes, the desert, the heat, but also the innocence of childhood, loss, mourning, and love. It was a truly international experience, recorded in Budapest with the magnificent Hungarian Studio Orchestra and in Brussels for the solo instruments. I had the immense privilege of collaborating with exceptional musicians. Vardan Hovanissian’s duduk soars above the whole, creating a link between the landscapes and the characters. Tristan Driessens’ oud, sometimes rhythmic, sometimes melodic, punctuates the narrative. These instruments converse with the depth of the strings, which convey innocence, love, but also grief. At times, percussion and darker textures recall the reality of an endless conflict. It is music about loss, but above all, about the unwavering hope that persists at the heart of the tragedy.” – Frédéric Vercheval

THE COMPOSER: Frédéric Vercheval was born in Brussels, Belgium. He started to play the keyboard at the age of eight, musician, composer and arranger of film music. Frédéric has composed the soundtracks for multiple feature films and has worked with Oscar-winning directors such as Bille August and Agnieszka Holland.  He is president of the Belgian Screen Composer Guild. Frédéric Vercheval was nominated for the Magritte du cinéma for Best Original Score five times for Diamant 13, Krach, Pas son genre, Melody and Chez Nous. His soundtrack for the film Duelles won a World Soundtrack Award in 2019 and a Magritte du Cinema for best original score in 2020. MovieScore Media released his scores for The Pact, Les volets verts and Green Border.

MMS25027 BAGHDAD MESSI (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Composed by FRÉDÉRIC VERCHEVAL
Release date: November 5, 2025