Ten European actresses and actors were revealed Thursday as 2017's Shooting Stars, the European Film Promotion's Berlinale showcase for young acting talents to watch.
From Denmark comes Esben Smed, and also Germany's Louis Hofmann, who plays in Danish director Martin Zandvliet's "Land of Mine," is in the line-up.
"High octane Dane"
Esben Smed, who has appeared in supporting roles in Kasper Barfoed's "Summer of '92" and the television show "Follow the Money," is taking his first lead in Jacob Bitsch's upcoming drama, "Amina's Letters," to premiere in March.
The jury comments on their choice of Smed as follows:
"This is one intense, high octane Dane. To meet him when he's angry is somewhat disturbing. And we mean this in the nicest possible way. Esben's presence is unquestionable and fills up the screen with great edge."
In "Amina's Letters," Smed plays Janus who has only one thing in mind when he is released from a secure psychiatric hospital – to find a girl named Amina. Her letters saved him from committing suicide while confined in the institution. Janus fears that Amina has come to grief and embarks on a detective-style journey through the streets of the big city to find her. His journey takes him into a paranoid and violent world, and it nearly costs him his life. He becomes so obsessed by the notion of Amina's tragic fate that only when it is too late does he realise that the person who needs saving is himself.
Anders Ølholm has written the script based on a novel by Jonas T. Bengtsson. The film is produced by Birgitte Skov for Toolbox Film with funding support from the Danish Film Institute. Esben Smed is represented by Lindberg Management.
Land of Mine star from Germany
Germany's Louis Hofmann, the youngest among this year's Shooting Stars, has won several awards for his perfomance as a young German soldier in Martin Zandvliet's "Land of Mine," which is Denmark's Foreign Language Oscar entry.
Most recently, Hofmann played the lead in Jakob M. Erwa's "Die Mitte der Welt," a coming-of-age drama based on a popular German youth novel.
Berlin international Film Festival 9-19 February 2017
Read press release from the European Film Promotion
Watch trailer