22/10/2007

After London and Berlin, the third edition of Up and Coming Stars, the event organised by Unifrance to promote young French film talent outside their home country, is being held at the RomeFilmFest. Running through tomorrow, it features two days of meetings between eight French and eight Italian actors selected by Filmitalia.

The selection was based not solely on the age of the actors, as two Italian names are also quite established: Giorgio Pasotti (at the Fest last year with Salty Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Angelini
film profile]) and Valentina Cervi, who features in Spike Lee’s first Italian-set film, Miracle at St. Anna.

They will be flanked by emerging performers Carolina Crescentini (on screens now in Cemento armato [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Michele Venitucci (best actor at Locarno), Alba Rohrwacher (Elio Germano and Riccardo Scamarcio’s sister in My Brother Is an Only Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Daniele Luchetti
interview: Riccardo Tozzi
film profile]) and Filippo Timi (in theatres soon in Wilma Labate’s La signora effe).

Lastly, two of the actors are already at the festival with films: Valentina Lodovini, seen last week in Carlo Mazzacurati’s competition title The Right Distance [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), and Fabio Troiano (who will walk the red carpet of the Prémiere section tonight for Silvio Soldini’s Days and Clouds [+see also:
trailer
film profile]).

From France, accompanied by Ariane Ascaride (winner of last year’s best actress award at the Fest for Armenia [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), come young talents already gaining acclaim at international festivals: Elodie Navarre, Fua’d Aït Aattou (at Cannes with Catherine Breillat’s An Old Mistress [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Stéphanie Crayencour and Andy Gillet (the leads in Eric Rohmer’s The Romance of Astree and Céladon [+see also:
trailer
film profile], seen at Venice this year), Chloé Coulloud and Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet (both currently at Rome with, respectively, In Mom’s Head [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Horse Thieves [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) and Johan Libéreau (at the latest Berlinale with The Witnesses [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by André Techiné).

Hosting the honours at home (which in London and Berlin fell upon Jeremy Irons and Jan Schutte) is director Alessandro D’Alatri. For the occasion, and to aid the head of the casting agencies present at the Fest, Filmitalia has created an English-language catalogue, with photos and filmographies of the selected actors.

(Translated from Italian)