Shooting Stars Light Up The Sky In Tallinn

Six current Shooting Stars, an exclusive club of up-and-coming European actors that  are selected annually by an international jury and introduced at the Berlin International Film Festival by the European Film Promotion organization, are making an appearance in films being shown this week at POFF, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

With a strong focus on European cinema both in and out of competition, the Festival is one of the places to catch current trends and the output of new and established talents. Further emphasizing Tallinn's growing importance in the European constellation of nations, it will host the European Film Awards on Saturday evening, as a kick start to its designation as European Capital of Culture in 2011. In addition, starting next month, the old Estonian currency (the krone) will be replaced by the pan-European euro, with Estonia the first country in Eastern Europe to join the euro club.

Lotte Verbeek (The Netherlands) is represented at POFF with the 2009 film NOTHING PERSONAL. For her performance in this intense drama, she won the Best Actress awards at both the Locarno and Marakech film festivals, as well as being nominated for the Golden Calf, the National Dutch Film Award.  Krystof Hadek (Czech Republic) is a stage and film actor whose newest film 3 SEASONS IN HELL, directed by Tomas Masin, is competing in this year's EurAsia Competition.

Agata Buzek (Poland) is a haunting beauty whose performance in REVERSE (her country's sumbission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) has already earned her accolades, as well as the Best Actress prize at the Polish Film Festival and the Polish Eagle Awards.

Michele Riondino (Italy) has made his mark in his native country on the stage and on the large and small screen. He is represented at POFF by MARPICCOLO, a 2009 film directed by Alessandro di Robilant. He is currently on theater screens in Italy with NOI CREDEVAMO, a film by Mario Martone that world premiered this summer at the Venice Film Festival.

Hailing from Britain, Edward Hogg gained his first acting experience from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He has since excelled at both television and film roles including WHITE LIGHTNIN (2009), for which he won the Best Actor awards at the Mumbai and Monterrey film festivals. At this year's Cannes Film Festival, he received the Chopard/Premiere Magazine Male Revelation of the Year Award, further solidifying his status as a blazing new talent to watch. He is represented at POFF by the film OLLIE KEPLER'S EXPANDING PUBLIC WORLD by Viv Fongenie.

Pihla Vitala is a striking actress from Finland (the country focus of this year's POFF) who has already worked with such esteemed Finnish film talents as Aki Kurismaki (BAD FAMILY) and Akou Louhimies (TEARS OF APRIL). Her 2009 film HELLSINKI by Aleksei Makela is screening in the Focus On Finnish Cinema section here at POFF.

(Jakob Cedergren, Denmark) 

Several current and former Shooting Stars are nominated for top awards at this Saturday's European Film Awards, the "European Oscars". Among those up for prizes are Lotte Verbeek for her work in NOTHING PERSONAL; Zrinka Cvitesic for her role in ON THE PATH by Croatian director Jasmila Zbanic; Elio Germano for OUR LIFE by Italian director Daniele Luchetti; and Jakob Cedergren for his work in Danish auteur Thomas Vinterberg's SUBMARINO.

The Tallinn skies are ablaze with super novas and shooting stars........

Sandy Mandelberger, POFF Dailies Editor