Aisling Franciosi
DUBLIN, IRELAND - MAY 24: Aisling Franciosi attends the Irish Film And Drama Awards on May 24, 2015 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Phillip Massey/Getty Images)

#IrishTalent: Aisling Franciosi named as European Shooting Star

Irish actor Aisling Franciosi has been selected as a European Shooting Star at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) following in the steps of Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Negga, Andrew Scott, and Moe Dunford, all of whom received this honour early on in their careers. Now in its 22nd year, European Shooting Stars presents ten of the best up-and-coming acting talents from right across Europe.

The selection process is incredibly competitive but the jury were very impressed with Aisling‘s “great acting range and superb instincts” in The Nightingale, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year.

Aisling Franciosi, a classically trained singer and pianist, first appeared on screen in the BBC series, The Fall for which she received the Irish Film and Television Award as Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2015. She was cast in Ken Loach’s Jimmy’s Hall, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2014, and most recently, she played the lead in The Nightingale by Jennifer Kent, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival 2018. Franciosi was also honoured as one of Screen Daily’s prestigious Stars of Tomorrow in 2015.

We are so proud that Aisling has been selected for this honour and that Ireland will be represented at the European Shooting Stars in Berlin this year. Ruth Negga and Domhnall Gleeson both received this honour in the past and have gone on to have very successful careers. I have no doubt that Aisling’s star will continue to rise. She is an incredibly talented actress and we at Screen Ireland are delighted to be able to support this initiative.
James Hickey, Chief Executive – Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland

I am so thrilled and consider it a great honour to be chosen as a Shooting Star — particularly by such a jury. Actors I really admire have been selected as a Shooting Star in the past, so it feels a little surreal! I owe so much to the people I have been lucky enough to work with from the beginning, but particularly to Jennifer Kent who took a chance on me and trusted me with The Nightingale. It’s a role and a project I will never forget. It’s a film I will always be proud of.
Aisling Franciosi

The event taking place between 8th – 11th February 2019 during the 69th Berlin International Film Festival where the Shooting Stars nominees will be presented to the film industry, public and international press. In addition to the public exposure, the programme provides a special platform for the Stars to meet casting directors, producers and filmmakers in one-on-one meetings, offering a unique opportunity to create the personal contacts and networks needed to embark upon an international career. The busy weekend culminates in an awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast on Monday 11th February, where each actor will be honoured with the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS Award donated by Leysen1855.

European Shooting Stars is the oldest and most prestigious initiative to promote European talent for the international film market. Since its first edition in 1998, a total of 303 European Shooting Stars have been presented at this influential international film festival, proving for many an important stepping stone in their careers, including Alicia Vikander, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alexander Fehling, Pilou Asbæk, Carla Juri and Baltasar Kormákur to name a few.

The members of the 2019 jury are: US casting director Avy Kaufman, film critic Tara Karajica from Serbia, Macedonian director Teona Strugar Mitevska, producer Macdara Kelleher from Ireland and Icelandic Shooting Star from 1999, Ingvar Sigurdsson.

Aisling Franciosi forms a powerful symbiosis with her character in Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale, thus revealing great acting range and superb instincts, as well as profound sensitivity and intelligence in the way she interprets a scene. Her physical transformation is exceptional, morphing spectacularly into Joan of Arc from a young and fragile woman, all the while masterfully and carefully controlling her performance
European Shooting Star Jury