GIJON, Northern Spain — The European Film Academy will host an actors summit — Shop Talk: Actors Talk About Their Work — before its European Film Awards ceremony on Dec. 11 in Barcelona.
Taking place on the morning and early afternoon of the awards at Barcelona’s Camara Oficial de Comercio, the summit will turn on the working conditions, challenges and opportunities for actors in Europe.
It will be opened by EFA prexy Wim Wenders and the summit patrons Norwegian actress-director Liv Ullmann and Spanish actress Assumpta Serna. It will be moderated by British film writer Peter Cowie.
Themes will be discussed by actors, who have been selected this year by the European Film Promotion as a Shooting Star, breaking through to international recognition.
“The conference is the first time that the EFA has given actors their own voice to analyze problems and offer solutions, drawing on a wide diversity of participants,” Serna said.
Jeremy Irons and Finland’s Irina Bjorklund will kick off proceedings by talking about acting as a vocation.
Spain’s Enrique Alcides and Maria Gracia Cucinotta will focus on the power of the agent, and Iceland’s Baltasar Kormakur and Holland’s Thekla Reuten will discuss the problems and advantages of acting in small countries.
Following a keynote speech by Nikita Mikhalkov about seducing the audience, director Istvan Szabo and Swiss actor Stellan Skarsgaard will consider the topic: European stars — illusion or reality?
The summit will conclude with Italy’s Michele Placido and Poland’s Jerzy Stuhr talking about crossing borders, and Germany’s Franka Potente and Gaul’s Jean-Marc Barr addressing how to succeed in a competitive environment.
