Alumni from European Film Promotion’s Shooting Stars sparkle at Venice and Toronto

There is a moment each year at the Berlin International Film Festival when 10 rising European actors, all renowned in their home countries, come together to take their careers to the next level. For four days, EFP’s European Shooting Stars programme introduces the carefully chosen talents to the international industry, press and casting directors.

The aim is for the impact they make in Berlin and the contacts they forge to reverberate through the months and years ahead.

Two films that played in Competition at Venice Film Festival this year feature European Shooting Stars alumni: Sweden’s Alicia Vikander (Shooting Star 2011) leads the cast of Olivier Assayas’s The Wizard Of The Kremlin, while Switzerland’s Luna Wedler (Shooting Star 2018) heads Ildiko Enyedi’s Silent Friend.

“It was an amazing opportunity early in my career and a wonderful place to meet other actors, one of them being Domhnall Gleeson who I later went on to make two films with,” notes Vikander. “I’m always excited to see the new talent coming through each year — these are the faces to keep an eye on.”

Furthermore, Italy’s Benedetta Porcaroli (Shooting Star 2023) appears in Carolina Cavalli’s The Kidnapping Of Arabella (aka Il Rapimento Di Arabella), which screened in Horizons.

Wealth of opportunity

Also from Italy, 2024 Shooting Star Valentina Bellè is in Andrea Di Stefano’s My Tennis Maestro, which screened Out of Competition on the Lido. Bellè will also be seen in Primavera directed by Damiano Michieletto, with Michele Riondino (Shooting Star 2010) and Stefano Accorsi (Shooting Star 2001) also among the cast. Primavera made its world premiere in the Special Presentations strand at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

“Being part of the Shooting Stars programme was crucial for getting a taste of the complexity and richness of the European market,” says Bellè. “Meeting casting directors was essential for better understanding different methods and approaches. I feel I now have more tools to tackle international auditions.”

Germany’s Katharina Stark was also part of the 2024 cohort. She is now appearing in Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland’s Franz, another TIFF Special Presentations pick. “The Shooting Stars programme was an immense help to get into contact with many people from the industry. The Berlinale is a great environment and community for it,” comments Stark.

Each year five well-known film industry experts take on the task of selecting the 10 most talented and internationally versatile actresses and actors from candidates who have been nominated by EFP’s 37-strong network of film promotion institutes and film centres. During European Shooting Stars, selected actors meet with over 60 international casting directors.

“We create a four-day programme built around three main pillars: industry connections, press and promotion visibility, and award ceremony,” says Croatian producer Tina Hajon, who has been programme director of Shooting Stars since 2022.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for the European Shooting Stars to benefit from this international networking platform, realised through a strong partnership with the Berlinale.”

Belgium’s 2024 Shooting Star Thibaud Dooms has just finished shooting Ruben Östlund’s The Entertainment System Is Down in Budapest and is now prepping for a feature in Belgium directed by Patrice Toye.

“I met Thibaud during the European Shooting Stars’ Actors Industry Networking event during the Berlinale and his face and personality perfectly fitted what I was looking for at the time,” says Swedish casting director Pauline Hansson, who also served as jury member for the 2025 Shooting Stars. “He sent me a great self-tape just weeks after and got one of the parts in The Entertainment System Is Down.”

The film is a hot favourite to screen at Cannes in 2026, potentially catapulting Dooms to even further international recognition.

Shooting Stars can play a crucial role in the career trajectories of European talents, notes Hajon. “There are many European films produced each year, and some of them never cross their own national borders in terms of festival screenings and international distribution,” she says. “EFP’s dedicated platform helps bridge the gap between national success and global opportunities.”

Ireland’s Éanna Hardwicke (Shooting Star 2024) is testament to the benefits of being selected for the showcase. He stars in Saipan from UK filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, which screened at TIFF in a Centrepiece slot. Hardwicke suggests the EFP Shooting Stars programme felt like an international stamp of approval.

“It’s been my hope that I could make films across other languages and cultures,” Hardwicke says. “Being a European programme, Shooting Stars makes you that bit more visible to filmmakers across the continent.

“More importantly, I found it hugely inspiring creatively. I met and watched the work of nine brilliant actors, and I learned from my colleagues in a very real way.”