Screen Stars Tallinn is the newly created joint initiative of Black Nights Film Festival and Creative Gate Development Centre for Creative Industries, designed to help young actors from the Baltic Sea region to promote themselves outside their home territory, connect with international film professionals, and acquire practical skills needed in their future international career. The media partner of Screen Stars Tallinn is Screen International. The programme is being held on November 28-30 and consists of masterclasses, meetings, presentations, and networking events.
Together with the acclaimed casting directors, agents, film directors and actors, we will discuss international acting scene and give useful tips to our young participants.
One panel discussion is open for all the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event participants:
International film casting - How to Score the Roles You Dream about
November 28, 14:00 - 16:30
Kultuurikatel, Põhja puiestee 27
We do not know much about the casting director’s work on big productions, as here at home most of the casting is done by film directors themselves. At the same time, we admire Scandinavian actors who have been cast in Hollywood films - Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Stellan Skarsgård, and others. How to make a young, aspiring actor visible to people who cast for international movies? How to not go from casting to casting with no results? What are the dos and don’ts of this business? We have invited casting directors, agents and actors to share their experiences and talk openly about the ways of becoming successful.
Panellists:
- Stephanie Holbrook, Casting Director, Stephanie Holbrook Casting, USA
- Debbie McWilliams, Casting Director, Casting Consultancy, United Kingdom
- Beatrice Kruger, Casting Director, FBI Casting SRL, Italy
- Molly Wansell, Agent “42”, United Kingdom
- Georg Georgi, Agent , Das Imperium Talent Agency (D.I.T.A.) Berlin
- Laura Munsterhjelm - Agent, Finland, Actors in Scandinavia
- Deborah Kara Unger, actress.
Screen Stars Tallinn Experts
Casting Director Stephanie Holbrook, Stephanie Holbrook Casting, USA Stephanie Holbrook has developed extensive screen credits in 3 markets. She was on the casting team for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, We Own The Night, The Squid and The Whale, Margot at the Wedding, Margaret, The Village, and Lady In the Water, among others. Film Casting credits include multiple titles that have premiered at high-profile festivals, including SXSW, Toronto, many at TriBeCa, several at Sundance, among others. Credits include Equity, Christine, The Eyes of My Mother, Life Of Crime, The Lifeguard, Ava’s Possessions, Book of Love, Three Generations, Catfight, Landline, and The Happening for M Night Shyamalan.
My Friend Dahmer, Thoroughbreds and One Percent More Humid are current U.S releases. Stephanie also cast the TV series The Sinner, which could be seen on USA network this Summer.
With Casting Society of America, Stephanie is a multiple-nominee for Excellence in Casting and received an Artios Award for participation in the effort to unionise Casting Directors.
Casting Director Debbie McWilliams, Casting Consultancy, United Kingdom
Debbie McWilliams is a leading international Casting Director and has cast the last 13 James Bond films. She has worked with a diverse range of directors including Derek Jarman, Roman Polanski, Stephen Frears, Anthony Minghella, Sam Mendes, Martin Campbell, Marc Forster, Ron Howard. Debbie is a member of the Casting Directors Guild, The Academy of Motion Pictures, and is chairperson of the ICDN.
Casting Director Beatrice Kruger, FBI Casting, Italy
Rome-based Beatrice Kruger is a European Casting Director and a member of CSA and UICD. She is the founder of www.e-talenta.eu, which is an international platform for casting professionals and European actors, which is accessible in English, Italian, German, French, Spanish and Russian languages.
Her selected filmography includes Spectre by Sam Mendes, Grain by Semih Kaplanoglu, The Cut by Fatih Akin, To Rome with Love by Woody Allen, and Borgia (television series), etc.
Agent Molly Wansell, 42, United Kingdom
42 is a fully integrated management and production company, representing actors, writers, and directors; producing film, television and content, with offices in London and Los Angeles.
Agent Georg Georgi, Das Imperium Talent Agency (D.I.T.A.) Berlin, Germany
Das Imperium is a talent agency from Berlin (since 1995), who represents famous upcoming talents from more than 25 countries.
Agent Laura Munsterhjelm, Actors in Scandinavia, Finland
Laura Munsterhjelm is the director and founder of the leading agency in Scandinavia, Actors in Scandinavia. With more than 20 years of experience in managing actors, Laura has managed to push her actors into international success. Actors that include to the AIS roster are e.g the Academy Award winner, Alicia Vikander, Rebecca Ferguson, Fares Fares, Peter Franzén, Krista Kosonen, Tommi Korpela, Arnas Fedaravičius, Laura Birn and Lena Endre.
Actress Deborah Kara Unger
Deborah Kara Unger is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in the films Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994), Crash (1996), The Game (1997), Payback (1999), The Hurricane (1999), White Noise (2005), Silent Hill (2006), 88 Minutes (2008) and The Way (2010).
Director Steven Bernstein
Steven Bernstein, ASC, DGA, is an American cinematographer, director, screenwriter, and author. In 1992, he won the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival for Like Water for Chocolate alongside Emmanuel Lubezki. He also won the Cannes Golden Lion for his work in commercials. His book Film Production (Focal Press) has been translated into several languages and at one time was the bestselling textbook about film making. Bernstein was a 2014 ASC nominee for the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series Award for his work on Magic City.
Bernstein has acted in minor roles in several films, has directed shorts, music videos, and television commercials, and has lectured widely. He made his directing feature film debut with 2014's Decoding Annie Parker, for which he was awarded The Alfred P. Sloan Award at the Hampton's International Film Festival. Bernstein’s latest production is Dominion, which premieres in Official Selection of Black Nights Film Festival.