European Film Promotion, the network that brings together promotional and export bodies from 37 countries in Europe, has unveiled the 10 young, up-and-coming actors who will be featured at the 2017 Shooting Stars showcase during the Berlin Film Festival.
The 20th edition of Shooting Stars includes: Polish actress Zofia Wichlacz, who stars in Poland’s Foreign Language Oscar submission Afterimage; Germany’s Louis Hofman (Land of Mine); Italy’s Alessandro Borghi (Don’t Be Bad); Dutch actress Hannah Hoekstra (The Fury); Romania’s Tudor Aaron Istodor (The Fixer); Slovenia’s Marusa Majer (Ivan); Denmark’s Esben Smed (Kick ‘N Rush); Portguese actress Victoria Guerra (Cosmos); Sweden’s Karin Franz Korlof (A Serious Game); and Latvia’s Elina Vaska (Mellow Mud).
This year’s jury, who selected the 10 actors, consists of casting director Lucinda Syson, whose credits include Batman Begins and Kick-Ass, former Shooting Star Dorka Gryllus, Swiss director Xavier Koller, Portuguese producer Pandora da Cunha Telles and Swedish film critic and writer Jan Lumholdt.
During the four day event, which takes place February 10-13, 2017, the 10 actors will take part in a tailor-made program of profile-raising workshops and meetings with influential members of the International Casting Directors Network, filmmakers and other industry players, alongside interviews and photo-shoots with international media.
The event is backed by Creative Europe’s MEDIA program and culminates in an awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast on February 13, where each actor will be presented with the European Shooting Stars Award donated by Tesiro.
“The event has become one of the most prestigious platforms for discovering and encouraging incredible new talent across Europe and I am honored to be a part of this jury,” said Syson in a statement. “My fellow colleagues at the International Casting Directors Network value this event so much as it provides us with a unique opportunity to meet actors in one place. We can then put them forward for projects whereas we may never have previously considered them.”
Shooting Star alumni include Danish actor Pilou Asbaek, who first met Syson and Avy Kaufmann during the 2011 edition, which led to him being cast as Pontius Pilate in Timur Bekmambetov’s Ben Hur, as well as Daniel Bruhl and Alicia Vikander.
