Marko Igonda as a Slovak Star in the Shooting Stars Project at the Berlinale 2008                           

Press release (24. 1. 2008) 

In the on-coming prestigious 58^th International Film Festival in Berlin, Slovakia will participate in the Shooting Stars project for the 2^nd time. Its 11^th year, held during the Berlinale from 9^th to 12^th February 2008, will look differently this year, and our participation in the present selection of stars is a great success of Slovakia on the international scale. Being nominated by the Slovak Film Institute, the Slovak representative among nine Shooting Star participants is the actor Marko Igonda.

The objective of the project Shooting Stars, organised by European Film Promotion (EFP), is to present Europe’s young acting talents. After ten years of its existence, the organisers agreed about a new concept and more rigorous rules of selecting and presenting actors. Unlike past years when the participants were selected directly by the EEP membership countries, according to the new rules regarding the selection of this year’s Shooting Stars, it was the international jury composed of five big names known in the world film industry that made decisions. The Shooting Stars 2008 jury chairman was a cameraman Michael Ballhaus who is one of the world best directors of photography at present. Other jury members were the following: the actress Lucy Russel – British Shooting Star in 2002, the film producer Vibeke Windeløv, the personnel manager Derek Power, and the casting expert Beatrice Kruger.

The Slovak Film Institute (SFÚ) has been the EFP member since 2006. Due to this fact, Slovakia has had the chance to take part in various EFP international projects up to now, such as Shooting Stars 2007 at the Berlinale, or Producer on the Move 2007 at the IFF in Cannes. The SFÚ nominated Marko Igonda for Shooting Stars 2008 in September 2007.

From twenty-two European young acting talents nominated by individual EFP members, the jury included also our representative, actor Marko Igonda, to the short-listed artists for his “heartfelt and impressive performance in the picture “Facing the Enemy”, directed by Patrik Lančarič,arguing that “we have totally believed his difficult life conditions”, and called our attention to his extraordinary artistic potential.Marko Igonda got among the final nine after the English actor Andrew Garfield waived his participation.

Marko Igonda (1974) studied dramatic art at the College of Arts (Vysoká škola múzických umení) in Bratislava. He had performed in the Slovak National Theatre for three years, and among other roles he played Don Juan in Molière’s play of the same name, Brčo inZoltán Egréssy’s Portugalia, Albert Einstein in Steve Martin’s play Picasso at the Lapin Agile, etc. Since 2005, he has been living in Prague, and performed in the National Theatre, in the Divadlo v Řeznické, and in the Bouda Theatre. In his filmography there are found, e.g. King of Thieves (dir. Ivan Fila, 2003), Lovers and Murderers (dir. Viktor Polesný, 2004), or Bonds of Blood (dir. Milan Cieslar, 2005). His latest screen role was the soldier Helmut Kampen in the picture Facing the Enemy. At present, he is shooting a film Flying Cyprian (dir. Mariana Čengel-Solčanská), in the lead role of the monk Cyprian.

The fact he has been included in the schedule of this significant international presentation project, Marko Igonda takes as a great opportunity “To be in the Shooting Stars schedule is mostly a wonderful satisfaction for me. I feel it is a kind of feedback, since work of actors is rarely appreciated in such an extent. I do not travel to Berlin as an individual, I will represent Slovakia and the work of Slovak actors. It is a sign that not only dramatic art but the whole film branch progresses in Slovakia. I believe one day it will again have a promising outlook and dimensions as it did in the days when the directors Barabáš or Hollý made films. I don’t exaggerate my expectations, although I know it is a rare occasion for an actor. Many people with experiences and contacts will meet in Berlin, and that can be an important experience and a good school of life for me. Anyway, I will try to enjoy every moment of it.”

The very first representative of Slovakia in the history of Shooting Stars was the actress Táňa Pauhofová in 2007, in the year of its 10^th anniversary during 57^th Berlinale. “It was one of the best events I have ever been present at. I had a chance to meet many interesting people and have been in touch with some of them up to now. I learnt not to be afraid of being in the 'big world', of presenting myself and my work and I found out how many things I could manage under pressure. Thanks to my participation and presentation, casting agents, producers and directors could see me, and I was given several interesting offers from Germany, Austria, Canada and Estonia. I think Shooting Stars is an absolutely professionally prepared event for young, not well-known actors and actresses at the beginning of their careers. It gives them the opportunity to be there, to attract and acquire new contacts, to work abroad, and last but not least to experience the real festival atmosphere like celebrities do” appraised T. Pauhofová her participation.

Besides Marko Igonda, there are other eight young actors in this year’s Shooting Stars schedule, representing the following eight countries: Stine Fischer Christensen (Denmark), Nicolas Cazalé (France), Hannah Herzsprung (Germany), Zsolt Nagy (Hungary), Elio Germano (Italy), Maryam Hassouni (the Netherlands), Anamaria Marinca (Rumania), and Joel Basman (Switzerland). The organisers will introduce Shooting Stars 2008 to the public at the official press conference in Berlin on Monday 11^th of February 2008. As part of the Shooting Stars 2008 project there are prepared many presentation events including meetings with journalists, producers and casting agents, and an extensive media campaign during the whole 58^th IFF the Berlinale. In the past ten years, the project Shooting Stars has opened the way to the international fame and interesting job offers to almost two hundred young actors. Among them are names like Daniel Craig, known as the latest James Bond (Casino Royale), Daniel Brühl (Good Bye, Lenin!), Frank Potente (Run Lola Run, The Princess and the Warrior), Ludivine Sagnier (Eight Women, Swimming Pool), or Aňa Geislerová (Beauty in Trouble, Something Like Happiness).

contakt TS: Katarína Lednická, e-mail: infosfu.sk,
tel.:+421 907 723 971,+421 2 57 10 15 26, fax: 52 73 32 14