Ten rising stars from European films and series will receive special attention at the Berlin Film Festival this February. They have been selected to participate in the Shooting Stars program, a regular feature of the prominent German festival, which provides new acting talents with the opportunity to step into the spotlight and strengthen their international careers.
Among this year’s ten Shooting Stars is Besir Zeciri, selected for his role in the feature film ‘The Girl with the Needle’. The film, which premiered in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, has just been nominated for a Golden Globe and is Denmark’s Oscar entry in the International Feature Film category. Besir Zeciri previously gained recognition for his performance in Jeanette Nordahl’s debut film ‘Wildland’, which was part of Berlinale 2020, and the DR series ‘Outlaw’, for which he won a Danish ‘Robert Award’ in 2022. Currently, Besir Zeciri is starring in cinemas in the feature film ‘The Way Home’.
The Shooting Stars jury highlights Besir Zeciri’s performance with these words:
“Despite wearing a mask in ‘The Girl with the Needle’, you can tell that Danish actor Besir Zeciri is a good actor. He has a real presence in the film which ensures the audience will struggle to forget him. In his career he has shown that he can handle emotions in a special, powerful way. A versatile actor who knows how to do a lot of different things, in a lot of different ways.”
In ‘The Girl with the Needle’, Besir Zeciri takes on his first role in a period drama. The film was written by Magnus von Horn and Line Langebek, directed by Magnus von Horn, and produced by Creative Alliance Nordisk Film. It will premiere in Danish cinemas on January 23, 2025.
Besir Zeciri graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in 2019 and has since appeared in numerous theater productions, films, and series.
The Danish Film Institute nominated Besir Zeciri as Denmark’s candidate for Shooting Stars.
The Shooting Stars event takes place during the Berlinale from 14 to 18 February. The Berlin Film Festival runs 13-23 February 2025. See more at berlinale.de
Shooting Stars
Each year during the Berlinale, the European Film Promotion (EFP) presents ten emerging acting talents to the film industry, public and international press.
The European Shooting Stars 2025 were selected by an international jury, comprised of Romanian director and screenwriter Radu Muntean, Swedish casting director Pauline Hansson, Swiss producer Amel Soudani, French actress and former Shooting Star Ludivine Sagnier and Montenegrin journalist and curator Vuk Perović. These five experts recognised the talents‘ remarkable potential for an international career, citing several factors, including their outstanding work in the feature films and drama series which were submitted for their nomination and which are noted in bold in their bios below.
The four-day event culminates in the awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast where each talent will be presented with the European Shooting Stars Award on Monday 17 February.
EFP is a network of European promotion agencies representing their national films and talents.
The Shooting Stars platform is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the respective EFP member organisations.