Each year we are proud to partner with the European Film Promotion to celebrate ten emerging European talents as part of their ongoing Efp Shooting Stars programme. Today we’re pleased to join the reveal of 2023’s cohort, who we’ll be getting to know better next year at the 73rd Berlinale.
Here are 2023’s European Shooting Stars:
Joely Mbundu (Belgium), Alina Tomnikov (Finland), Leonie Benesch (Germany), Thorvaldur Kristjansson (Iceland), Benedetta Porcaroli (Italy), Yannick Jozefzoon (The Netherlands), Kristine Kujath Thorp (Norway), Judith State (Romania), Gizem Erdogan (Sweden) and Kayije Kagame (Switzerland).
We’ll be meeting with each of the Shooting Stars out in Berlin next February and speaking to them. So, remember to check back next year for those interviews.
In the meantime, here are more details about each of the intake from the Efp themselves.
Belgium / Joely Mbundu ©Tina Herbots
Joely Mbundu hails from Villeneuve-St-Georges, France and attended school in Flanders,...
Here are 2023’s European Shooting Stars:
Joely Mbundu (Belgium), Alina Tomnikov (Finland), Leonie Benesch (Germany), Thorvaldur Kristjansson (Iceland), Benedetta Porcaroli (Italy), Yannick Jozefzoon (The Netherlands), Kristine Kujath Thorp (Norway), Judith State (Romania), Gizem Erdogan (Sweden) and Kayije Kagame (Switzerland).
We’ll be meeting with each of the Shooting Stars out in Berlin next February and speaking to them. So, remember to check back next year for those interviews.
In the meantime, here are more details about each of the intake from the Efp themselves.
Belgium / Joely Mbundu ©Tina Herbots
Joely Mbundu hails from Villeneuve-St-Georges, France and attended school in Flanders,...
- 12/14/2022
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
European Film Promotion, which represents film organizations in 37 countries, has revealed the up-and-coming acting talent who have been selected for the next edition of European Shooting Stars. They will be introduced to the international press, film industry and the audience during the 73rd Berlin Film Festival.
The four-day tailormade promotion and networking program, running Feb. 17-20, culminates with a celebration of the talent at an awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast.
The European Shooting Stars 2023 — which includes eight women and two men — were selected from a pool of 27 nominees by an international jury, comprised of Polish director Jan Komasa, Dutch casting director Rebecca van Unen, Norwegian producer Maria Ekerhovd, former Spanish Shooting Star Veronica Echegui, and Variety’s international features editor Leo Barraclough from the U.K.. These five experts recognized the talents’ potential for an international career based on several factors, including their stellar work in feature films and drama series,...
The four-day tailormade promotion and networking program, running Feb. 17-20, culminates with a celebration of the talent at an awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast.
The European Shooting Stars 2023 — which includes eight women and two men — were selected from a pool of 27 nominees by an international jury, comprised of Polish director Jan Komasa, Dutch casting director Rebecca van Unen, Norwegian producer Maria Ekerhovd, former Spanish Shooting Star Veronica Echegui, and Variety’s international features editor Leo Barraclough from the U.K.. These five experts recognized the talents’ potential for an international career based on several factors, including their stellar work in feature films and drama series,...
- 12/14/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The fund is open to investing in English language projects.
Finland’s Aurora Studios is expanding its Finnish Impact Film Fund to also invest in international co-productions, at the same time the fund grows from €5.5m to €13.5m after a new round of financing.
Petri Kemppinen, CEO of Aurora Studios, explains: “We are primarily interested in Nordic and European producers and their projects, which offer opportunities for co-productions and the participation of Finnish talent. The fund is able to make investments in individual projects from €100,000 up to €1.2m.” The fund is open to investing in English language projects in the right circumstances,...
Finland’s Aurora Studios is expanding its Finnish Impact Film Fund to also invest in international co-productions, at the same time the fund grows from €5.5m to €13.5m after a new round of financing.
Petri Kemppinen, CEO of Aurora Studios, explains: “We are primarily interested in Nordic and European producers and their projects, which offer opportunities for co-productions and the participation of Finnish talent. The fund is able to make investments in individual projects from €100,000 up to €1.2m.” The fund is open to investing in English language projects in the right circumstances,...
- 11/3/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The Finnish Film Affair, an annual industry event running parallel to the Helsinki International Film Festival, handed its top prize Thursday night to “Je’vida,” a historical drama about memory, survival and personal growth from director Katja Gauriloff.
“Je’vida” was one of seven fiction feature works in progress that were pitched to an audience of industry guests in Helsinki on Sept. 22, during the Finnish Film Affair’s showcase of local and regional projects. The jury noted that the winning film “is a story that needs to be told, with real potential to become relatable globally. The presentation and cinematography felt personal, beautiful and visually striking.”
Produced by Joonas Berghäll of Oktober Oy, “Je’vida” is the first film ever shot in the Skolt Sámi language. It tells the story of an elderly woman who has abandoned her past under the pressures of assimilation and winds across three different time periods.
“Je’vida” was one of seven fiction feature works in progress that were pitched to an audience of industry guests in Helsinki on Sept. 22, during the Finnish Film Affair’s showcase of local and regional projects. The jury noted that the winning film “is a story that needs to be told, with real potential to become relatable globally. The presentation and cinematography felt personal, beautiful and visually striking.”
Produced by Joonas Berghäll of Oktober Oy, “Je’vida” is the first film ever shot in the Skolt Sámi language. It tells the story of an elderly woman who has abandoned her past under the pressures of assimilation and winds across three different time periods.
- 9/23/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Katja Gauriloff’s Je’vida is the first film to be shot in the Skolt Sami language.
Katja Gauriloff’s Je’vida, the first feature to be made in the Skolt Sami language was awarded the best fiction project award at the Finnish Film Affair (Ffa) in Helsinki this week.
The film is now in post-production and tells a very personal story of a woman forced to assimilate into a culture that is not her own and abandon her own language and culture. Gauriloff, who is of Skolt Sami heritage, said the story is based on the experiences of her mother,...
Katja Gauriloff’s Je’vida, the first feature to be made in the Skolt Sami language was awarded the best fiction project award at the Finnish Film Affair (Ffa) in Helsinki this week.
The film is now in post-production and tells a very personal story of a woman forced to assimilate into a culture that is not her own and abandon her own language and culture. Gauriloff, who is of Skolt Sami heritage, said the story is based on the experiences of her mother,...
- 9/23/2022
- by Louise Tutt
- ScreenDaily
The spectacular rise of green-haired Finnish pop star Alma has inspired one of Finnish Film Affair’s most buzzy documentaries in progress, “Alma – Who Am I?” Finnish director and actor Pamela Tola spoke to Variety about her film.
Produced by Helsinki production company Lucy Loves and Oskari Huttu, and being pitched at the Helsinki film industry event this week, “Alma – Who Am I?” follows the rise of its subject, who suffers from mental health challenges and who grew up in a socially alienated family with her twin sister and their disabled parents. Alma is also a musical force of nature who writes songs for major international artists and performs her own work to audiences around the world.
Tola confesses that as she got to know her subject she quickly encountered universal themes in the challenges facing women artists.
How did you become interested in Alma’s story and what did...
Produced by Helsinki production company Lucy Loves and Oskari Huttu, and being pitched at the Helsinki film industry event this week, “Alma – Who Am I?” follows the rise of its subject, who suffers from mental health challenges and who grew up in a socially alienated family with her twin sister and their disabled parents. Alma is also a musical force of nature who writes songs for major international artists and performs her own work to audiences around the world.
Tola confesses that as she got to know her subject she quickly encountered universal themes in the challenges facing women artists.
How did you become interested in Alma’s story and what did...
- 9/22/2021
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
As the end of the first decade of the Finnish Film Affair nears, the industry event’s director, Maria Pirkkalainen, who also heads Nordic Flair, notes its phenomenal growth, with more than 200 Finnish film projects showcased, more than 500 international guests brought to Helsinki, and the establishment of a major platform and networking forum for locals.
And things keep evolving, she says: “We are thrilled to now branch out to offer this to filmmakers from our neighboring Nordic countries as well. Not to mention we’ve curated over 2,000 meetings between our guests during all these years. And introduced hundreds of people to the art of sauna.”
The traditional sweat-soaked industry mixer, just one of the signature events of Finnish Film Affair, is typical of the creative approaches Pirkkalainen and her team have embraced in her three years leading the event.
The key driver, she says, is a focus on learning and...
And things keep evolving, she says: “We are thrilled to now branch out to offer this to filmmakers from our neighboring Nordic countries as well. Not to mention we’ve curated over 2,000 meetings between our guests during all these years. And introduced hundreds of people to the art of sauna.”
The traditional sweat-soaked industry mixer, just one of the signature events of Finnish Film Affair, is typical of the creative approaches Pirkkalainen and her team have embraced in her three years leading the event.
The key driver, she says, is a focus on learning and...
- 9/16/2021
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Fresh off Juho Kuosmanen’s win at Cannes – where his “Compartment No. 6” was awarded the Grand Prix in July, sharing the prize with Asghar Farhadi’s “A Hero” – Finland’s Aamu Film Company will focus its attention on Tia Kouvo’s “Family Time,” scheduled to shoot in February and March 2022.
Produced by Jussi Rantamäki and Emilia Haukka, the film, primarily set at Christmas, will show a family of eight struggling to communicate and echoing Tolstoy’s statement that while all happy families are alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
“I have been working with the same directors for years, saying no to many interesting projects. Then I saw Tia’s graduation short and realized we have to find room for one more,” says Rantamäki, also behind Kuosmanen’s Un Certain Regard winner “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” and Hamy Ramezan’s Berlinale entry “Any Day Now.
Produced by Jussi Rantamäki and Emilia Haukka, the film, primarily set at Christmas, will show a family of eight struggling to communicate and echoing Tolstoy’s statement that while all happy families are alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
“I have been working with the same directors for years, saying no to many interesting projects. Then I saw Tia’s graduation short and realized we have to find room for one more,” says Rantamäki, also behind Kuosmanen’s Un Certain Regard winner “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” and Hamy Ramezan’s Berlinale entry “Any Day Now.
- 9/15/2021
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The hit BBC drama “The Replacement” is set for a Finnish adaptation produced by Helsinki-filmi (“Tove”) for local streamer Elisa Viihde.
The Elisa Viihde original series has started filming in the metropolitan area of Helsinki under the helm of filmmaker Jyri Kähönen. It will launch on Elisa Viihde Viaplay streaming service in 2022, and is being represented in international markets by Sony Pictures Television.
Created by Joe Ahearne and Nicole Cauverien, “The Replacement” is an intense psychological thriller about the fear of losing one’s professional and personal life.
The Finnish adaptation is a three-part series penned by Mia Ylönen (“Tom of Finland”) and Tuuli Hostikka (“Tove”). The cast includes Maria Ylipää (“Arctic Circle”), Pamela Tola (“Ladies of Steel”) and Olavi Uusivirta (“The Sixth Time”). Sara Paavolainen and Eero Saarinen feature in other key roles.
The series will follow Ella, an architect who is about to get the greatest opportunity of her career,...
The Elisa Viihde original series has started filming in the metropolitan area of Helsinki under the helm of filmmaker Jyri Kähönen. It will launch on Elisa Viihde Viaplay streaming service in 2022, and is being represented in international markets by Sony Pictures Television.
Created by Joe Ahearne and Nicole Cauverien, “The Replacement” is an intense psychological thriller about the fear of losing one’s professional and personal life.
The Finnish adaptation is a three-part series penned by Mia Ylönen (“Tom of Finland”) and Tuuli Hostikka (“Tove”). The cast includes Maria Ylipää (“Arctic Circle”), Pamela Tola (“Ladies of Steel”) and Olavi Uusivirta (“The Sixth Time”). Sara Paavolainen and Eero Saarinen feature in other key roles.
The series will follow Ella, an architect who is about to get the greatest opportunity of her career,...
- 4/19/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Santa Barbara Film Festival will open with the world premiere of Aaron Maurer’s documentary Invisible Valley, which profiles the stories of the disparate people that make up the Coachella Valley. It kicks off a festival that will run March 31-April 10 with a hybrid edition that includes online elements and screenings at a pair of pop-up beachside drive-in venues.
The full lineup revealed Tuesday features 47 world premieres and 37 U.S. premieres from 45 countries alongside the fest’s annual tributes featuring the likes of Bill Murray, Carey Mulligan, Sacha Baron Cohen and Amanda Seyfried which will be livestreamed online.
Every film screening will be offered for free this year, with a ticketed online component that will showcase the entire film lineup along with the tributes, industry panels and filmmaker Q&As.
The fest will close with a series of short documentaries by local filmmakers.
Here’s the trailer for Invisible Valley,...
The full lineup revealed Tuesday features 47 world premieres and 37 U.S. premieres from 45 countries alongside the fest’s annual tributes featuring the likes of Bill Murray, Carey Mulligan, Sacha Baron Cohen and Amanda Seyfried which will be livestreamed online.
Every film screening will be offered for free this year, with a ticketed online component that will showcase the entire film lineup along with the tributes, industry panels and filmmaker Q&As.
The fest will close with a series of short documentaries by local filmmakers.
Here’s the trailer for Invisible Valley,...
- 3/9/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
In 2020, Finnish movies registered 1,583,618 admissions, taking 41.1% of the market share. Although the Finnish box office predictably saw a significant drop in 2020 – according to the information published by the Finnish Film Foundation, the results amounted to less than 3.9 million, less than half of the 2019 admissions – six local films made it into the top 10, with Pamela Tola's road movie Ladies of Steel leading the pack with 247,000 admissions. “I do find it encouraging and I think this shows that, when the restrictions due to Covid-19 are eventually lifted, the audience will come back to cinemas,” said Matti Paunio, head of production at the Finnish Film Foundation, to Cineuropa. “The thrill of the common experience around a film in a movie theatre has not vanished.” Overall, films directed by women fared better than ever, gathering 57% admissions of all new Finnish releases in 2020....
Nominations for feature film and documentary up from five to six.
The nominations for the 2020 European Film Awards have been unveiled, with the size of two key categories extended as a result of the virus crisis.
The categories for best feature and best documentary have each been increased from five to six to offer more exposure to titles and artists impacted by cinema closures and release delays during the pandemic.
Scroll down for full list of nominees
The films nominated in the best European Film category are Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Berhan Qurbani’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi,...
The nominations for the 2020 European Film Awards have been unveiled, with the size of two key categories extended as a result of the virus crisis.
The categories for best feature and best documentary have each been increased from five to six to offer more exposure to titles and artists impacted by cinema closures and release delays during the pandemic.
Scroll down for full list of nominees
The films nominated in the best European Film category are Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Berhan Qurbani’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi,...
- 11/10/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The Big Hit, Ladies of Steel and Advantages of Travelling by Train will vie for the European Comedy award. The European Film Awards has announced the nominations for the 2020 European Comedy category. The nominations were determined by a committee comprised of Efa Board Members Katriel Schory (Israel) and Angela Bosch Ríus (Spain), director-screenwriter Paddy Breathnach (Ireland), festival programmer Markus Duffner (Germany/Italy) and distributor-festival programmer Selma Mehadzic (Croatia). The nominated films are: European ComedyThe Big Hit - Emmanuel Courcol (France)Ladies of Steel - Pamela Tola (Finland)Advantages of Travelling by Train - Aritz Moreno (Spain) The nominated films will now be made available to the more than 3,800 Efa Members to elect the winner. The European Comedy 2020 will then be presented at the 33rd European Film Awards in December.
- 10/27/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
A trio of laffers — from France, Spain, and Finland —have been nominated for this year’s European Film Awards in the best European comedy category.
The European Film Academy announced its 2020 nominees for best Euro comedy on Tuesday, naming a final shortlist containing Emmanuel Courcol’s The Big Hit, Aritz Moreno’s The Advantages of Traveling By Train, and Ladies of Steel from Finish director Pamela Tola.
Kad Merad, of Welcome to the Sticks fame, stars in The Big Hit as a once-famous actor down on his luck who decides to give drama lessons to prisoners in an attempt to stage Samuel ...
The European Film Academy announced its 2020 nominees for best Euro comedy on Tuesday, naming a final shortlist containing Emmanuel Courcol’s The Big Hit, Aritz Moreno’s The Advantages of Traveling By Train, and Ladies of Steel from Finish director Pamela Tola.
Kad Merad, of Welcome to the Sticks fame, stars in The Big Hit as a once-famous actor down on his luck who decides to give drama lessons to prisoners in an attempt to stage Samuel ...
- 10/27/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
A trio of laffers — from France, Spain, and Finland —have been nominated for this year’s European Film Awards in the best European comedy category.
The European Film Academy announced its 2020 nominees for best Euro comedy on Tuesday, naming a final shortlist containing Emmanuel Courcol’s The Big Hit, Aritz Moreno’s The Advantages of Traveling By Train, and Ladies of Steel from Finish director Pamela Tola.
Kad Merad, of Welcome to the Sticks fame, stars in The Big Hit as a once-famous actor down on his luck who decides to give drama lessons to prisoners in an attempt to stage Samuel ...
The European Film Academy announced its 2020 nominees for best Euro comedy on Tuesday, naming a final shortlist containing Emmanuel Courcol’s The Big Hit, Aritz Moreno’s The Advantages of Traveling By Train, and Ladies of Steel from Finish director Pamela Tola.
Kad Merad, of Welcome to the Sticks fame, stars in The Big Hit as a once-famous actor down on his luck who decides to give drama lessons to prisoners in an attempt to stage Samuel ...
- 10/27/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The new 1970s-set series, helmed by Marja Pyykkö and Pamela Tola, has begun its July shoot. With its tagline alone, claiming that “there’s a method for your madness”, the upcoming new series Bad Apples promises a peek into the twisted reality of a 1970s sanatorium, where student activist Onerva ends up being committed and forced to take part in an experimental psychiatric programme for women – predictably, against her will. Deemed “aggressive” and “hysterical”, even by the ones closest to her, she soon starts to question the prescribed treatments, as well as the methods of one Doctor Lundsten (Santeri Kinnunen). Directed by Marja Pyykkö and Pamela Tola, the latter fresh off the success of her comedy Ladies of Steel, it started shooting in Finland on 2 July and will be available to view on the country’s leading streaming...
GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Chosen to close the discussion dedicated to discrimination against elderly people at the Göteborg Film Festival, Pamela Tola’s “Ladies of Steel” fitted right into this year’s focus on feminism and gender at the Swedish event. Which managed to deliver on its 50/50 promise, with 54% of the presented films being directed by women.
“Of course you always want to be chosen because of your talents or capabilities, but I am very happy that we are opening up to the fact that there is still work to be done towards achieving equality in the film industry. After all, it’s enough to look at the Oscars,” the Finnish helmer told Variety.
In her second outing as a feature director following 2018’s “Swingers”, Jussi-nominated actress decided to focus on a trio of elderly ladies. Finding themselves on the lam after one of them seemed to have accidentally murdered her husband,...
“Of course you always want to be chosen because of your talents or capabilities, but I am very happy that we are opening up to the fact that there is still work to be done towards achieving equality in the film industry. After all, it’s enough to look at the Oscars,” the Finnish helmer told Variety.
In her second outing as a feature director following 2018’s “Swingers”, Jussi-nominated actress decided to focus on a trio of elderly ladies. Finding themselves on the lam after one of them seemed to have accidentally murdered her husband,...
- 1/26/2020
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
New films by Thomas Vinterberg, Charlotte Blom and Jonas Poher Rasmussen will be presented at the Goteborg Film Festival’s Nordic Film Market. In total, 16 films in post-production will be presented to industry participants in at the Nordic Film Market as part of the Work-in-Progress section. Half of the lineup is made up of first features.
Cia Edström, the head of the Nordic Film Market, said the industry showcase is seeing a big increase in participation this year. As many as 381 attendees from 25 countries so far have signed up for the event, including 37 sales agents, 67 festival programmers and 47 buyers. Edström noted the breadth and diversity of films and projects in this year’s program.
Vinterberg’s next film, “Another Round” is a modern drama starring Mads Mikkelsen. Represented in international markets by TrustNordisk, the film follows a group of high school teachers who embark on an experiment to be intoxicated...
Cia Edström, the head of the Nordic Film Market, said the industry showcase is seeing a big increase in participation this year. As many as 381 attendees from 25 countries so far have signed up for the event, including 37 sales agents, 67 festival programmers and 47 buyers. Edström noted the breadth and diversity of films and projects in this year’s program.
Vinterberg’s next film, “Another Round” is a modern drama starring Mads Mikkelsen. Represented in international markets by TrustNordisk, the film follows a group of high school teachers who embark on an experiment to be intoxicated...
- 1/16/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Industry@Tallinn and Baltic Event titles revealed.
The projects selected for Tallinn Black Nights’ industry showcase have been revealed, including a drama executive produced by Tim Roth and a new category for youth films.
Scroll down for full list of projects
This year’s Industry@Tallinn and Baltic Event will spotlight 18 films seeking sales agents or festivals for international premieres during works in progress sessions in the Estonian capital from November 26-27.
Both the Baltic Event, showcasing Baltic and Finnish projects, and International Works in Progress will compete for the same awards this year: the Post Production Award worth €10,000 and...
The projects selected for Tallinn Black Nights’ industry showcase have been revealed, including a drama executive produced by Tim Roth and a new category for youth films.
Scroll down for full list of projects
This year’s Industry@Tallinn and Baltic Event will spotlight 18 films seeking sales agents or festivals for international premieres during works in progress sessions in the Estonian capital from November 26-27.
Both the Baltic Event, showcasing Baltic and Finnish projects, and International Works in Progress will compete for the same awards this year: the Post Production Award worth €10,000 and...
- 11/6/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
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