07/12/2006

The first two names of the 2007 vintage of Shooting Stars have been announced: Jules Werner will represent Luxembourg, and Maximilian Brückner will represent Germany. The two young thespians will be joined by actors from across the continent at the official presentation of this European Film Promotion initiative at the upcoming Berlinale.

Brückner, who hails from Bavaria, landed his first major role in 2004 as the small-town gay football player in Sherry Horman’s comedy Guys and Balls. He also starred in the 2005 Berlinale winner Sophie Scholl: The Final Days [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Thomas Durchschlag’s debut feature Allein (lit. "Alone").

He can next be seen in Marcus H. Rosenmüller’s winter sports comedy Schwere Jungs, which is slated for an early 2007 release through Constantin Film Verleih.

Werner, who will represent the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , was schooled at the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has extensive experience in theatre both at home and abroad. In film, he has worked on many shorts, including Fred Neuen’s Trinity and Max Jacoby’s Butterflies, which won the Prix UIP at the 2005 Venice Film Festival.

He also had a bit part in Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and is currently filming Paul Kieffer’s feature film Nuits d’Arabie (lit. "Nights of Arabia"), in which he plays the lead.

Brückner and Werner will be joined by two dozen more actors for the special Shooting Star programme (February 10-12) during the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.