Black Nights Stars, a programme that highlights forthcoming actors and actresses, has announced its selection of eight promising young talents for 2024. Chosen from over two hundred submissions, the actors and actresses will take part in a comprehensive programme of workshops and lectures designed to help them succeed in the international film industry.
Now in its 8th year, Black Nights Stars is part of the Discovery Campus, an international educational programme organised by Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event and the Black Nights Film Festival.
The head of the Black Nights Stars programme, Claudia Landsberger said she is very pleased to present the eight young talents who will meet in Tallinn from 19-22 November during the Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn as part of the specially designed framework to support these young talents as they take their next steps into the international arena of the film industry. The participants will have the opportunity to meet with international casting directors, talent agents, producers and directors and participate in various workshops and panels, all designed to enrich them with new skills, contacts and information that can give them access to new opportunities in their careers. “ I wish all Black Nights Stars 2024 a great festival with many new contacts for great projects in the near future and look forward to seeing them again on the big screen,” she added.
All participants will also receive the special Black Nights Stars Discovery Campus ICDA Award in recognition of their selection as Black Nights Stars 2024.
The eight promising young talents from the Baltic Sea region were selected by an international jury of professionals, consisting of casting directors Ulrike Möller from Germany and Sien Josephine Teijssen from Belgium, Yngvill Haga from Norway and Sam Jones from the UK, all members of the International Casting Directors Association. Other judges included talent agent Silke Rodenbach from Germany, actor and acting coach Tom Sawyer from the UK and former Black Nights Star Henessi Schmidt from Estonia.
Black Nights Stars 2024:
Alec Toselli is a Swedish actor. He studied the Meisner Technique at the Ted Bardy Acting Studio in New York City and at Playhouse West in Los Angeles. In 2020, he graduated from the drama school Cours Florent in Paris. He was born in Norrköping, Sweden, in 1993, to parents of Italian, Swedish and Estonian descent. Throughout the years, he has become known for his chameleonic ability to portray a wide range of characters, from villains to romantic leads, the latter of which is shown in his role as Jesse in the feature film Suicide Tuesday, by Joakim Paronen and his filmography shows him seamlessly going from slapstick comedies to dark thrillers. He has appeared in award-winning films like Too Much Sand (Best Comedy at Chicago CineYouth Festival, 2024), Headache (Best Swedish Short Film at Lund Fantastic Film Festival, 2023) and The Dream Machine (Best Depiction & Set Design at Exit Independent Film Festival, 2023).
Andreas Bruun Pedersen is an actor from Denmark. He is currently studying in his last year at The Danish National School of Performing Arts. Andreas started acting in 2019 and in the three years he acted before he got accepted into drama school, he has been a successful leading man in the TV-series Guldfeber (Always Be Closing) on Danish National Television, and had smaller parts in seven TV-series, and the feature films Lily’s Ghost by Kasper Møller Rask and There’s No Place Like Home by Puk Grasten. Andreas also had both leading and supporting roles in 24 short films altogether. As an actor he enjoys transforming physically into his characters. For his lead in Always be Closing he dropped 12 kg in 3 weeks to match his own vision of his character Kenneth and he isn’t shy of playing around with different beards and hairstyles either. In 2025 he will get his debut on stage in Jeppe on the Hill or The Transformed Peasant at Aarhus Theatre, where he’ll get to experience working with one of the greatest stage directors in Denmark, Christian Lollike.
Maria Kowalska is an actress from Poland and from an early age, her talent was evident in her victories in recitation competitions and her significant roles in school plays. She won the Talent 2012 award at the Art Festival of Wadowice Cultural Center. In 2015, Maria received the Golden Index, and was accepted into the Acting Department of the Łódź Film School. During her third year, Maria was discovered by renowned casting director Magdalena Szwarcbart, who cast her as Ola Kostrzewa, one of the four main characters in the TV series Under the Surface, directed by Borys Lankosz and Bartosz Konopka. Following this, she appeared in the feature film Nothing Is Lost by Kalina Alabrudzińska, in the series Osiecka, by Robert Gliński, and in the second season of the series Sexify, directed by Kalina Alabrudzińska. Her breakthrough role came with the adaptation of the cult Polish novel Forgotten Love, by Michał Gazda produced by Netflix. Following this role Maria became the cover star of the October 2023 issue of Elle Poland. Maria's most recent project is the TVP series Matylda, directed by Krzysztof Lang and the Feature Film Skrzyżowanie by Dominika Montean.
Maria Valk is a 24-year-old Estonian actress. Originally from Hiiumaa island, she graduated from the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy in 2023, where she studied Theatre and trained as an actress. With a background in singing, dancing, and visual arts, she has built a diverse and dynamic career in the performing arts. Her first minor acting role was in an Estonian 2020 feature film Talve ("Winter"), directed by Ergo Kuld. In 2023 She had a lead role in a student short May in Eden, directed her own first short The Hole. Mockery tragedy to the cultural field and played in a short called Saab, which got selected to BNFF, Tampere film festival and Bueu film festival. Her latest works are playing Monika in an YLE and ERR mini-series called Kalamaja blues and Marta in Punishment!? at the VAT Theatre in Tallinn.
Märten Metsaviir is an actor from Estonia. He graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2020. After graduation, he was cast in the main role in one of the biggest movie productions ever made in Estonia – the medieval crime trilogy Melchior the Apothecary, directed by Elmo Nüganen. He can also be seen in one of the most viewed youth-based TV series, Revenge Office. Märten has lent his voice to several cartoons and has narrated various TV texts. Since his graduation in 2020, Märten has been working at the Estonian Drama Theatre. In addition to his creative ambitions, as Märten believes radically different fields play a crucial role in his personal development by fostering skills such as discipline, adaptability, and performance under pressure, he also works with one of the biggest go kart teams in Estonia, serving as a mechanic and driving coach. Märten has been selected as this year’s winner of the Bruno O’Ya Award, an Estonian award to encourage young acting talent in their international career, named after Bruno O'Ya, an Estonian-Polish actor, who in 1974 starred in the Academy Award-nominated film The Deluge under Jerzy Hoffman.
Robertas Petraitis is an actor from Vilnius, Lithuania, graduated in acting from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2022, making his theater debut as Didi in Waiting for Godot at The State Youth Theater. In 2022-2023, Robertas secured key roles in two Lithuanian feature films, both set for release in 2025. In the comedy Southern Chronicles by Ignas Miškinis, Robertas stars as Minde, soulmate of the protagonist Rimants, who’s dealing with the lessons of first love in the backdrop of a fast-changing country. In the leading role of the thriller The Activist by Romas Zabarauskas, Robertas plays Andrius, a young guy who infiltrates a neo-nazi group to find the killer of his boyfriend, an LGBT+ activist. In 2024, Robert starred in Pijus Mačiulskis short film Lark Ravenhair, which is sparked by a fable about a man-eating tigress. In the same year, Robertas joined the National Kaunas Drama Theatre acting troupe and started working on the new production Open the Door by Justinas Vinciūnas.
Salah Isse Mohamed is an actor from Finland, who has rapidly risen to prominence in the industry, securing a string of impressive roles in a short span of time. He made his acting debut in the collaborative effort between professionals and youth in the series Zone B by Juho Kuosmanen, Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, and Siiri Halko (2022) where he impressed audiences in one of the lead roles. In television, Salah has delivered standout performances in productions such as North 66 Precinct S2 (2024) by Teppo Airaksinen and Fast (Karkurit) S2 (2023) helmed by Jussi Hiltunen and Markus Lehmusruusu. He has also appeared in the film Hyväeli (2023), directed by Sami Laitinen. Salah will star in Aku Louhimies’ new flagship series Conflict which will be released later this year (2024). Salah is certainly a rising star to watch. Fluent in Finnish, English, and Somali, with a basic understanding of Arabic and Swedish, as well as French, he brings authenticity to his roles. Salah's multilingual abilities and physical talents make him a versatile and captivating choice. Next, he aspires to demonstrate his talent in international projects as well.
Zethphan Smith-Gneist was born in New York and grew up in Berlin. Zethpan played his first main role in the web-hit-series Druck (2020-2023), which earned him and the cast their first German Screen Actors Award for best ensemble. He also appeared in the Netflix-Series Kleo (2022), and acted alongside Cate Blanchett in Todd Fields modern masterpiece TÁR (2022), which got nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. His over a minute long scene with Cate Blanchett, shot in one take, led to Zethphan’s first interview with The Hollywood Reporter and mentions by The New York Times, Time Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, Variety and many more. Recently he won his second German Screen Actors Award for best ensemble, as well as the Bunte New Faces Award as best up-and-coming actor for his first leading role in Zeit Verbrechen – Deine Brüder directed by Helene Hegemann, which premiered at this year ‘s Berlinale.
Photo: Black Nights Stars 2024 from top left: Alec Toselli, Andreas Bruun Pedersen, Maria Kowalska, Maria Valk, Märten Metsaviir, Salah Isse Mohamed, Robertas Petraitis, Zethphan Smith-Gneist.