House Of Guiness star Danielle Galligan, Nine Perfect Strangers’ Lucas Englander and Heysel 85 lead Violet Braeckman are among 10 actors selected for the 2026 edition of European Film Promotion’s European Shooting Stars.
The selected talents will take part in a four-day programme to enhance their visibility during the Berlinale, featuring networking sessions, industry meetings and press events.
The 10 European Shooting Stars for 2026 are: Albania’s Fatlume Bunjaku, Austria’s Lucas Englander, Belgium’s Violet Braeckman, France’s Salif Cissé, Germany’s Enno Trebs, Ireland’s Danielle Galligan, Italy’s Tecla Insolia, The Netherlands’ Joes Brauers, Norway’s Sofia Tjelta Sydness and Portugal’s Cleo Diára.
They were selected by an international jury consisting of Danish actress Danica Ćurčić, Bosnian film director and Academy Award winner Danis Tanović, Portuguese casting director Jo Monteiro, Belgian producer Jacques-Henri Bronckart, and British-Sudanese critic and writer Leila Latif.
Kosovan-Albanian actress Fatlume Bunjaku’s credits include Ujkan Hysaj’s Hana (2025). She was highlighted by the jury for her “commanding screen presence, complete with a striking emotional depth”.
Lucas Englander was shortlisted for the César best newcomer award for 2020’s Appearances, and plays opposite Nicole Kidman in the series Nine Perfect Strangers. The Austrian actor will next star in Adrian Goiginger’s Das Café Ohne Namen.
Belgian actress Violet Braeckman has key roles in upcoming projects including Teodora Ana Mihai’s Heysel 85, Thom Lunshof’s First Zone and Peter Krüger’s The Age Of Magic, as well as the Netflix series The Twelve.
French actor Salif Cissé earned a César nomination for most promising actor for 2020’s All Hands On Deck. He has since appeared in films such as Filmlovers!, Guess Who Is Calling and the series Lupin. More recently, he starred in Cannes Un Certain Regard title Meteors by Hubert Charuel.
German actor Enno Trebs has frequently collaborated with Christian Petzold, playing key roles in Undine, Afire and Miroirs No. 3. He will next be seen in a leading role in Nicolas Ehret’s Echo Of Tomorrow’s War.
Irish actress Danielle Galligan trained at The Lir Academy and has played lead roles in series such as 2021’s Shadow And Bone and Kin. She was most recently seen in Steven Knight’s House Of Guinness. Her performance in 2022’s Lakelands earned her IFTA nominations for best lead actress and rising star.
Italian actress Tecla Insolia recently starred as the protagonist of Valeria Golino’s The Art Of Joy, followed by performances in 2024’s Familia and L’albero, as well as this year’s Amata and Damiano Michieletto‘s Primavera.
Dutch actor Joes Brauers has had roles in Quo Vadis, Aida?, Do Not Hesitate and Hardcore Never Dies and next appears in Sander Burger’s Youri, portraying a journalist in 1980s Amsterdam.
Norwegian actress Sofia Tjelta Sydness’s credits include Netflix’s Midsummer Night and key upcoming roles in Ruben Östlund’s The Entertainment System Is Down and drama Fighter directed by Irasj Asanti.
Cleo Diára, born in Cape Verde and raised in Lisbon, won the Un Certain Regard best performance award this year for her role in Pedro Pinho’s I Only Rest In The Storm.
Previous European Shooting Stars include Riz Ahmed, Matilda de Angelis, Leonie Benesch, George MacKay, Cécile de France, Alicia Vikander and Maisie Williams.
“This is a truly remarkable group of talents, selected by our jury from an exceptionally strong field of nominees,” said Tina Hajon, the programme director of European Shooting Stars. “They represent some of the most exciting new voices Europe has to offer.”
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