23/11/2022 - Five industry experts are going to select Europe’s most promising up-and-coming acting talents for the new edition of the initiative, set to take place at the 2023 Berlinale

(l-r, top to bottom) Jan Komasa, Rebecca van Unen, Maria Ekerhovd, Leo Barraclough and Veronica Echegui

Five acclaimed experts selected by European Film Promotion (EFP) have the challenging task of deciding which of the 27 nominated acting talents will take part in the upcoming edition of European Shooting Stars (17-20 February, 2023) at the Berlin International Film Festival.

With their extensive experience in different fields of the film industry, the jury members will select the ten most talented and internationally versatile actresses and actors from the 27 candidates nominated by their national film promotion institutes and film centres, which comprise the member organisations of EFP.

"We are delighted to have this renowned group of jury members joining us this year. Their experience will ensure that the selection is top-notch, and will greatly enrich the overall programme. We are looking forward to their discoveries and a new cohort of up-and-coming European acting talent" says Tina Hajon, Programme Director of the European Shooting Stars.

Polish jury member, Jan Komasa, is a director and screenwriter, whose films have premiered or been honoured in Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Tribeca, Toronto, Palm Springs and Chicago. His multi-award-winning film, Corpus Christi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bartosz Bielenia
interview: Jan Komasa
film profile], was nominated for an Oscar as Best International Film. He is joined by award-winning producer Maria Ekerhovd founder of the Norwegian production company Mer Film. Her most recent productions include The Innocents [+see also:
film review
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interview: Eskil Vogt
film profile] by Eskil Vogt, and Gunnar Vikene's War Sailor [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the 2023 Norwegian entry for the Oscars. Ekerhovd was also the Norwegian co-producer on Jonas Poher Rasmussen's triple Oscar nominee, Flee [+see also:
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interview: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
film profile], which was awarded best documentary at the European Film Awards. Spanish actress, director, and former European Shooting Star Veronica Echegui caught the eye of the industry and public with films such as I Am Juani [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which earned her a Goya nomination in 2006 and Kathmandu Lullaby [+see also:
trailer
film profile] for which she won her first Gaudi Award in 2012. She has worked on numerous international projects such as US series Fortitude and Trust, and in 2022 she won a Goya Award for Best Short Film for Tótem Loba, this time, in her debut as a screenwriter and director. Dutch casting director Rebecca van Unen has cast a diverse mix of critically acclaimed projects with credits that include Winter in Wartime [+see also:
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film profile] by Martin Koolhoven and Layla M [+see also:
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film profile] by Mijke de Jong. Recent projects include Matthijs van Heijningen's The Forgotten Battle and Jamila Zbanic's Quo Vadis Aida [+see also:
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interview: Jasmila Žbanić
film profile] which was nominated for an Oscar as Best International Film and won Best Film, Director, Screenwriter, and Actress at the 2021 European Film Awards. Rounding out the jury is Variety's international features editor Leo Barraclough who also writes for the publication and edits many of their e-Show Dailies. Prior to joining Variety, he was features editor, and then managing editor of Screen International. He started in film and TV trade journalism at Moving Pictures International, where he was news editor and then deputy editor.

The 2023 European Shooting Stars will be announced in mid-December. At the Berlin International Film Festival the ten selected talents will take part in a four-day programme of networking as well as industry and press events, culminating in the glamorous presentation of the European Shooting Stars Awards at the Berlinale Palast.