For the 21st edition of EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS, this year’s jury of industry experts has selected a list of what they deem to be 2018’s ten most talented, up-and-coming actors from all over Europe, who are ready to step out onto the international film scene. They will be presented to the film industry, public and international press during the 68th Berlin International Film Festival (February 15 – 25, 2018). The group will take part in a dedicated workshop programme, rounded off by an awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast on Monday, Feb 19, where each actor will be honoured with theEUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS Award donated by Leysen1855. EFP’s longstanding and prolific talent platform is financially supported by theCreative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the respective EFP member organisations.
The selection of outstanding young talent from Europe includes 23-year-old Eili Harboe, who stars in the Norwegian Foreign Language Oscar entry THELMA (2017) by Joachim Trier. Fellow Scandinavian Alba August (24) – her famous origins aside – has made a name for herself in various Swedish productions, the latest being the leading role of iconic Astrid Lindgren in BECOMING ASTRID, which will be released in 2018. Multi-talented ItalianMatilda De Angelis (22) was discovered by director Matteo Rovere in 2015 and instantly took the lead in ITALIAN RACE (2016), for which she gained two David di Donatello nominations – for Best Actress, as well as Best Original Song for the film’s title song ‘Seventeen’ which she performs. Dutch Shooting Star Jonas Smulders already received a Golden Calf Award for Best Actor for his role in WE WILL NEVER BE ROYALS in 2015 and convinced the jury with his “extraordinarily subtle performance” in BROTHERS. Georgia submitted a nomination for the first time this year, putting forward a young actor, Irakli Kvirikadze, who straight away won over the jury with his “natural presence and overwhelming energy” in HOSTAGES (2017). And the youngest of the talented crowd, Luna Wedler (18) from Switzerland, totally captured the jurors’ attention with her fearless performance in BLUE MY MIND.
Among the more experienced EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS 2018 is Réka Tenki from Hungary, a stage and film actor, has among other productions appeared in István Szabo’s THE DOOR (2012) and last year’s Golden Bear winner ON BODY AND SOUL by Ildikó Enyedi. She was also named one of this year’s “10 Europeans to Watch” by Variety. Franz Rogowski has – in addition to appearing in prestigious German theatre productions – appeared in Sebastian Schipper’s award-winning one-shot-thriller VICTORIA, Michael Haneke’s HAPPY END and Terrence Malick’s RADEGUND. He also can be seen in FIKKEFUCHS, which is currently showing in German cinemas. One of his latest films, IN DEN GÄNGEN by Thomas Stuber, where Franz plays the lead role opposite Sandra Hüller, will be screened in the Official Competition of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Matteo Simoni, very well known in Belgium for the comedy series SAFETY FIRST, also appears regularly on stage. He was nominated for Best Actor at the Belgian Film Awards for his first leading role in the feature film MARINA, and thrilled the jury with his “wide acting range” in GANGSTA by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. From the UK comes award-winning actress, playwright, screenwriter and poet Michaela Coel. She is best known for her BAFTA-winning hit-series CHEWING GUM, which is based on her own play.
During the four-day event in Berlin (Feb 16 – 19, 2018), the ten actors will take part in a tailor-made programme of profile-raising workshops and meetings with experts and industry members, including the International Casting Directors Network (ICDN), filmmakers, producers and other industry representatives to foster their professional network. EFP also supports a universal recognition of their exceptional talent by an extensive international press campaign.
EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS is the oldest and most fruitful Europe-wide initiative to cast a spotlight on young actors. Since its first edition in 1998, a total of 293 European Shooting Stars have been presented at one of the most important international film festivals. This has proven for many to mark their launch into the international film scene. Former European Shooting Stars include Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Alicia Vikander, Matthias Schoenaerts, Carey Mulligan, Cécile de France, Domhnall Gleeson, Maria Valverde, Daniel Brühl, Anamaria Marinca, Pilou Asbæk and Baltasar Kormákur.
The members of the 2018 jury are: former Shooting Star Eduardo Noriega from Spain, director Mijke de Jong from The Netherlands, casting director and ICDN member Nicole Schmied from Austria, Croatian producer Ankica Juric Tilic and Norwegian film critic and Arts Editor Mode Steinkjer.
For more information on the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS 2018 and the full jury comments please click here.
The European Shooting Stars 2018 are supported by the following EFP member organisations: British Council, EYE International (The Netherlands), Flanders Image (Belgium), Georgian National Film Center, German Films, Hungarian National Film Fund, Istituto Luce Cinecittà (Italy), Norwegian Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute and Swiss Films.