"The US has money but a shortage of stories. And in the UK, there is material and talent without financing. It's a marriage made in heaven." So said Mark Gill of The Film Department at the end of last year. Financial incentives and exchange rates will wax and wane but the UK is indisputably one of the world's richest and most dynamic talent hubs.

The ability to identify the people with whom the international industry will want to work is vital. Screen International's annual UK Stars of Tomorrow issue has become a recognised and respected brand in the global industry. Previous UK Stars include actors James McAvoy (Wanted), Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Gemma Arterton (Quantum Of Solace) and Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia! The Movie), directors Simon Ellis, Andrea Arnold, Tom Harper and Chris Waitt, writers Abi Morgan and Peter Harness, and producers Mia Bays, Jane Hooks and Rebekah Gilbertson.

To compile the fifth edition of the UK Stars, we have spent many hours viewing showreels and shorts and talking to casting directors, agents, film schools, as well as TV and theatre producers. Expect to see the names on these pages soon writ large on global cinema screens in projects such as Ealing Studios' Easy Virtue, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire and BBC Films' An Education.

The photo-shoot for this year's Stars took place at 3 Mills Studios in east London, the capital's largest studios, which has hosted films by David Cronenberg, Wes Anderson, Tim Burton and Michael Winterbottom.

Watch out world, the Stars are coming.