Ten outstanding actresses and actors from all over Europe arrived in Germany’s capital city today eagerly waiting to take part in a tailor-made programme of profile-rising events during this year’s Berlinale.
The four-day intensive programme provides a powerful platform for the selected talent giving them the chance to meet international journalists, casting directors, producers and filmmakers, unique opportunities to build a professional network, equipping the young talents with the necessary means to embark on an international career. The programme concludes on Monday, 17 February with the European Shooting Stars Awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast where each actress and actor will be honoured on stage. The event is hosted by CUPRA
The ten selected European Shooting Stars for 2025 are: Marina Makris (Cyprus), Besir Zeciri (Denmark), Maarja Johanna Mägi (Estonia), Devrim Lingnau (Germany), Elín Hall (Iceland), Kārlis Arnolds Avots (Latvia), Šarūnas Zenkevičius (Lithuania), Lidija Kordić (Montenegro), Vicente Wallenstein (Portugal) and Frida Gustavsson (Sweden).
During 28 years, EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS has been an important stepping-stone for Europe’s new acting talent and their international careers. Notable Shooting Stars over the years include: Riz Ahmed (Relay, Fingernails, Encounter, Sound of Metal), Matilda de Angelis (Citadel: Diana, Across the River and Into the Trees, Atlas, The Undoing), Asta Kamma August (Families Like Ours), Suzy Bemba (Poor Things, Homecoming), Leonie Benesch (The Teachers‘ Lounge), George MacKay (The End, The Beast, Munich – The Edge of War, 1917), Carey Mulligan (Spaceman, Maestro, She Said, The Dig, Promising Young Woman, The Great Gatsby), Benedetta Porcaroli (Immaculate), Alba Rohrwacher (Maria, La Chimera, Happy as Lazzaro), Bill Skarsgård (Boy Kills World, It, It Chapter 2), Vic Carmen Sonne (The Girl with the Needle), Anamaria Vartolomei (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo), Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander (The Assessment, Rumour, Firebrand, Beckett, Tomb Raider) and Maisie Williams (The New Look, Game of Thrones).
EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS is made possible thanks to the support of Creative Europe – the MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the German Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media, the Berlin International Film Festival, CUPRA, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Hessen Film & Medien, Spotlight/Filmmakers, Armani beauty, International Casting Directors Association and Casting Society, as well as the participating national film promotion institutes and film centers from the Shooting Stars’ countries (EFP’s member organisations): With special thanks to German Films, Danish Film Institute, Deputy Ministry of Culture (Cyprus), Estonian Film Institute, Film Centre of Montenegro, Icelandic Film Centre, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual I.P. / ICA (Portugal), Lithuanian Film Centre, National Film Centre of Latvia and Swedish Film Institute. EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS’ main media partner is Variety, with additional media partners: Screen International, Cineuropa, Blickpunkt:Film, HeyUGuys and Festival Scope.
