28 September 2020
Newsdesk
Screen International has revealed its 2020 picks for this year’s Stars of Tomorrow, a showcase of the UK and Ireland’s most hotly tipped actors, directors, writers, producers and heads of department. All the 2020 UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow will take part in an online event on 5 October that will see several in-conversations hosted by Screen’s Fionnuala Halligan and Matt Mueller. Amazon Prime Video is on board this year as headline sponsor, with ScreenSkills returning as a supporting partner.
Screen International has a highly regarded track record of spotting talent early, and this year’s UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow will be following in the footsteps of some of today’s biggest names in film and television, many of whom are BAFTA and Oscar winners and nominees. From Emily Blunt and Benedict Cumberbatch in the inaugural selection in 2004, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Taron Egerton in 2014, Florence Pugh and Jodie Comer in 2016, to Himesh Patel and Rapman last year, the Screen International UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow alumni are now among the UK leaders of the global industry.
Curator of Screen’s Stars of Tomorrow Fionnuala Halligan said of this year’s selection: “At a time when the push for full diversity in film and TV is becoming more and more urgent, Screen is proud to maintain its record of inclusion, having brought David Oyelowo, Daniel Kaluuya, Sophie Okonedo, Noel Clarke, John Boyega, Letitia Wright, Michaela Coel, Dominic Buchanan, Cush Jumbo and many others to industry attention at the start of their careers”.
Each year Screen pairs up some of the stars with a mentor in their field to give them the opportunity to ask questions of an experienced professional, which are recorded and published on the magazine’s website. This year, 2020 Stars of Tomorrow actor Paul Mescal, casting director Aisha Bywaters and producer Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor have been paired with, respectively, Maxine Peake, Armando Iannucci and producer Mark Herbert (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, This Is England, Four Lions).
For the first year, Screen has partnered with a headline sponsor, Amazon Prime Video, a champion for the discovery of new talent. Director of European Originals at Amazon Studios, Georgia Brown said: “I’m thrilled that Prime Video is supporting this year’s Stars of Tomorrow initiative. Bringing new and diverse perspectives to the screen is something we feel very passionately about at Amazon Studios, and it’s wonderful to see such a varied group of talented young actors, writers, directors, producers and creatives in this year’s cohort. Every day my team in Europe is focused on bringing Amazon Original Series to life that successfully reflect Prime Video’s European and global audience, so it’s so important that we look to the next generation to help us do this well. The future of the British TV and film industry is in good hands with this year’s ‘Stars’; I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for them.”
The UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow took part in an exclusive, socially distanced photoshoot at the BFI Southbank, shot by Peter Searle, to be published in Screen International. For access to these images please email Screen’s art director Peter Gingell. Email: peter.gingell@mb-insight.com
This year’s UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow will be celebrated online via Zoom on 5 October and is again supported by ScreenSkills. Gareth Ellis-Unwin, Head of Film and Animation, ScreenSkills said: “Stars of Tomorrow is a fantastic celebration of talent, but it is clear that talent can be nurtured and is not just in-built. It has been a difficult year for our industry, but it remains vital we continue to create opportunities for people from a wide variety of backgrounds to get in and develop their screen careers. We congratulate all of this year’s Stars and are a proud partner with Screen International on this initiative.”
Screen International editor Matt Mueller said: “This year’s UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow cohort feels very special indeed, as diverse and representative this year as we have always strived to make it. In this unusual year, it felt more important than ever to shine this spotlight on emerging UK and Irish talent, and we’re proud of the selection and excited to see the strides they take in their careers. Congratulations to our Stars and thanks also to supporters including Amazon Prime Video, who we’re thrilled to welcome on board as the first headline sponsor for UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow. Their support is fantastically encouraging in what has been a challenging year for so many in the industry, alongside the ongoing support we receive from our long-term partners ScreenSkills and the BFI London Film Festival.”
The 2020 Screen Stars of Tomorrow announced today:
ACTORS
Helen Behan (The Virtues, Wildfire)
Anya Chalotra (The Witcher)
Sheyi Cole (Small Axe)
Emma Corrin (The Crown)
Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People)
Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education)
Max Harwood (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie)
Conrad Khan (County Lines, The Huntsman: Winter’s War)
Paul Mescal (Normal People, The Lost Daughter)
Yasmin Monet Prince (Nocturnal, Hanna)
Dónall Ó Héalai (Arracht, Foscadh)
Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education, Emma)
Jack Rowan (Born To Kill, Noughts + Crosses)
Amarah-Jae St Aubyn (Small Axe)
Micheal Ward (Top Boy, Blue Story)
PRODUCERS
Rienkje Attoh (Noughts + Crosses)
Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor (Blue Story)
Tom Wood (Sudden Light, Timestalker)
WRITER DIRECTORS:
Akinola Davies Jr (Welcome To Nollywood)
Colum Eastwood (Black Medicine)
Ella Glendining (Is There Anybody Out There?)
Naqqash Khalid (Stock)
Jayisha Patel (Circle, Notes To My Father)
Adam Patterson, Declan Lawn (The Salisbury Poisonings)
Charlotte Regan (Standby, Scrapper)
WRITERS
Matilda Ibini (The Unexpected Expert, Caring)
Courttia Newland (Small Axe)
HEADS OF DEPARTMENT
Aisha Bywaters (casting director)
Sinéad Kidao (costume designer)
Kate McCullough (cinematographer)
Bethany Swan (hair and make-up designer)
Ruben Woodin Dechamps (cinematographer)