Nils Althaus – Swiss Shooting Star 2007at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival
06.12.2006
He plays the central figure of Marco Nia in the fast-paced hip-hop drama “Breakout” (director: Mike Eschmann; producer: Zodiac Pictures Ltd., Lucerne) and is the first “discovery of the year”: 25-year-old Nils Althaus, whose discerning sense of acting and penetrating intensity is at once convincing and impressive. Due to his outstanding performance and authenticity in this role, SWISS FILMS – as a member of the European Film Promotion (EFP) – has nominated the talented newcomer as Switzerland’s Shooting Star 2007. Nils Althaus is thus one of the prospective 26 young actors and actresses from all over Europe who will stand in the limelight at the 57th International Film Festival in Berlin and be introduced on a large scale to the Berlin Film Festival’s public and international press.
Discovery as an actor
Nils Althaus reveals his talent in the role of Marco Nia, a 19-year-old delinquent who is a member of a gang in an abject suburb of Zurich and ultimately ends up in a youth detention center due to ensuing conflicts. Prior to Althaus’ debut in “Breakout”, this young actor from Bern gained his experience in front of the camera in various advertising films (Zweifel, Swisscom, among others) and as a model in photography and film. “Breakout” is Mike Eschmann’s most recent film for the cinema, following his box-office hit “Achtung, fertig, Charlie!”. “There are not many actors who have the talent to deal with such a multifarious range of emotions as discerningly as Nils Althaus has done in “Breakout”. Although the character he plays is extremely ambivalent and, indeed, exceptionally ominous for a protagonist, Nils Althaus manages to render him human and lend him emotional credibility with stupendous ease.” (Mike Eschmann, director)
“Europe‘s New Acting Talents”
From 10 to 12 February 2007, the EFP will present the 10th generation of Europe’s Shooting Stars in the limelight of Berlin’s Potsdamerplatz. The year 2007 marks yet another anniversary for the EFP: this innovative network of European film promotion and export agencies, which is located in Hamburg and supported by the EU’s MEDIA Program, was founded in Berlin in 1997; SWISS FILMS is among the founding members. Since its inception, the EFP has taken numerous opportunities to organise high-profile events for European films, one of which is its unique Shooting Stars event. The talented actors and actresses, who are selected by each member country of the EFP, converge in Berlin to meet international producers, directors, casting directors and other representatives of the film industry. They are introduced to the media and receive the “Studio Hamburg Shooting Stars Award” from Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick in the Berlinale Palast in conjunction with a competition screening. Subsequent to the Berlinale, the Shooting Stars are invited to a diverse number of European festivals.
Swiss Shooting Stars
Switzerland’s former Shooting Stars were: 2006 Carlos Leal (“Snow White”), 2005 Johanna Bantzer (“Strähl”), 2004 Michael Koch (“Achtung, fertig, Charlie!”), 2003 Mona Fueter (“Füür oder Flamme”), 2002 Michael Finger (“Utopia Blues”), 2001 Anne-Shlomit Deonna (“Potlatch”), 2000 Martin Rapold (“Exklusiv”) and 1999 Soraya Gomaa (“Vollmond”).
Zurich, 6 December 2006
Further information:
Shooting Star