Two young Romanian actresses, Cosmina Stratan and Maria Dragus were among the 10 actors who received Shooting Stars 2014 trophies during the ongoing Berlin Film Festival.

Recognised as being among the top 10 young European talents, the two Romanian actresses received their awards from Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård (known for his role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Swiss actor Bruno Ganz during the gala evening on February 11 at Berlinale Palast.

Stratan was the only one officially representing Romania, while Maria Dragus, a Romanian born, is representing Germany.

Cosmina Stratan got the Best Actress award, together with Cristian Flutur, at Cannes in 2012, for her role in Beyond the Hills by Cristian Mungiu.

Born in Iasi, Stratan came to acting after studying journalism and advertising in Bucharest. She appeared in several short films and plays before staring in her breakthrough feature film debut Cristian Mungiu’s Beyond the Hills.

In selecting her as a shooting star, the EFP jury said: “Cosmina rules with her emotions. In Beyond the Hills, she demonstrates incredible precision in her acting, with an expertly modulated performance that keeps emotion reined in but radiates a powerful feeling.”

Cosmina became the sixth Romanian actor included in this program, after Ada Condescu in 2013, Ana Ularu in 2012, Dragos Bucur in 2009, Anamaria Marinca in 2008 and Maria Popistasu in 2007.

The other Romanian included in this year's Shooting Stars program, Maria Victoria Drăguş, is 17, and is known for her role in The white ribbon/ Das Weisse Band, by Michael Haneke.

Started in 1998, the initiative aims to promote talented young actors and actresses and create recognizable faces in the European film industry.

Among the actors recognized with the Shooting Stars Award are Daniel Craig, Mélanie Laurent, Maria Bonnevie, Rachel Weisz, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Brühl and Nina Hos.

This year’s 10 stars came from all over Europe: Danica Curcic (Denmark), Maria Dragus (Germany), Miriam Karlkvist (Italy), Marwan Kenzari (The Netherlands), George MacKay (UK), Mateusz Kosciukiewicz (Poland), Cosmnia Stratan (Romania), Edda Magnason (Sweden), Jakob Oftebro (Norway) and Nikola Rakocevic (Serbia). “All 10 actors bring with them an individuality and performance style which has earned them individual accolades at festivals around the world, as well as in their home countries,” according to the organizers.

editor@romania-insider.com