Black Nights Stars 2026: Ten Actors Shaping the Future of European Cinema

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival celebrates the tenth anniversary of its talent development programme with ten actors from across European cinema. For the first time, applications were open to performers from Iceland and Norway, expanding the reach of an initiative designed to launch emerging talent onto the international stage.

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) does more than showcase films from around the world. It also helps discover and promote professionals beginning to build their careers in an increasingly international film industry.

One of its most interesting initiatives is Black Nights Stars, a programme dedicated to emerging actors that celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. From November 16 to 21, 2026, ten performers will take part in meetings, workshops and professional activities in Tallinn, designed to open doors to new opportunities in the film industry.

The programme received more than 200 applications through the casting platform etalenta, reflecting the interest in an initiative that forms part of Discovery Campus, the talent development and training programme of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.

The main novelty this year is the inclusion of Iceland and Norway among the countries eligible to submit applications, broadening a meeting point that connects the film industries of the Baltic Sea region with those of northern Europe.

The selection brings together remarkably diverse profiles: actors with theatre backgrounds, performers who have taken their first steps in independent productions, familiar faces from international streaming platforms, and professionals working in languages and cultural contexts rarely represented in major commercial productions.

Ten Careers, Ten Approaches to Acting

The selected actors are Mina Dale, Kathy Etoa, Gunnbjörn Gunnarsson, Estrid Gustafsson-Fjellheim, Eduards Johansons, Rūta Jonikaitė, Joonas Koff, Samuel Kujala, Hubert Miłkowski and Jarmo Reha.

Although their professional experiences differ, they share a defining moment in their careers: the transition from primarily national or regional recognition towards potential international visibility.

Mina Dale: From Norwegian Television to Directing

Norwegian actress Mina Dale began performing with a local youth theatre group and made her television debut at sixteen in the fantasy series Heirs of the Night. She subsequently appeared in productions such as Everything You Love, Requiem for Selina and the feature film Fuckings Bygda.

Her work also extends to theatre, where she played Jenny in Oslo Vanker, and voice acting, lending her voice to Irma in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In 2026, she also ventured into writing and directing with the short film MAMMA.

Kathy Etoa: A Career Between Cameroon, Switzerland and Germany

Born in Cameroon, Swiss by nationality and based in Berlin, Kathy Etoa has followed a career path far removed from the conventional route into acting. Before pursuing performance, she worked in the insurance industry. In 2021, she moved to Berlin and is currently studying at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts.

She made her German television debut in WaPo Berlin and has since appeared in Supermad, The Total Dream and the Netflix production 23 000 Lives. In 2025, she starred in What You’ll Find on the Way to Becoming at Schauspielhaus Zürich. Her next project is the Swiss series Blind.

Gunnbjörn Gunnarsson: The Body as a Storytelling Tool

Born in Denmark and raised in Iceland, Gunnbjörn Gunnarsson graduated in acting from Cours Florent Berlin. His sporting background has influenced his interest in physical expression and characters developed through movement.

In 2023, he wrote, produced and starred in the short film Showers, which received festival nominations in Iceland and the United States. Alongside his acting work in film and theatre, he continues to develop his own projects and has recently completed two short films in which he also plays the leading roles.

Estrid Gustafsson-Fjellheim: Bringing Sámi Cinema into the Spotlight

One of the most culturally distinctive careers in the selection belongs to Estrid Gustafsson-Fjellheim, a Swedish-Norwegian Sámi actress based in Stockholm.

She began her professional screen career at eighteen with Håll andan! and later starred in the feature film Fungi. Her most recent work is the Sámi-language series Oro jaska – Shut Up, broadcast by NRK, SVT and YLE and nominated for an International Emmy in 2025.

Her participation helps bring visibility to a cinema rooted in an Indigenous community whose language and culture find an important means of expression through audiovisual storytelling.

Eduards Johansons: From Latvian Theatre to Cinema

Eduards Johansons grew up close to the theatre world in Valmiera and joined the Valmiera Theatre ensemble after graduating from the Latvian Academy of Culture in 2015. His performance in We, Rock, Sex and the USSR earned him a nomination at the Spēlmaņu nakts theatre awards and the theatre’s audience award for Actor of the Year.

His film credits include Despair, The Year Before the War, Flesh, Blood and Even a Heart, the latter having its world premiere in PÖFF’s Baltic Film Competition in 2025.

Rūta Jonikaitė: A New Voice in Lithuanian Acting

Lithuanian actress Rūta Jonikaitė graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2024. That same year, she landed her first major film role in Night Screening, directed by Algimantas Puipa, and received a Golden Stage Cross nomination for Best Young Actress for Victor, or Power to the Children.

Her theatre experience includes collaborations with the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre and the National Kaunas Drama Theatre, as well as appearances at festivals in Italy, Germany and Poland.

Joonas Koff: A Vocation Born with The Fencer

Estonian actor Joonas Koff discovered acting at thirteen, when he was cast in a leading role in The Fencer, directed by Klaus Härö, a film that received a Golden Globe nomination and was shortlisted for an Academy Award.

That experience encouraged him to pursue acting, culminating in his graduation from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2026. During his studies, he worked with Härö again and gained experience on the production of Sisu 2: Road to Revenge.

Samuel Kujala: A Jussi Award and a Career on the Rise

Finnish actor Samuel Kujala arrives in Tallinn having won the 2026 Jussi Award for Best Leading Actor for A Light That Never Goes Out, which premiered in the ACID section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

He first attracted attention on television with Nörtti: DragonSlayer666, earning a Golden Venla nomination in 2018. He subsequently played a wide range of characters in Netflix’s Dance Brothers and Port Poison. He also appeared in Fucking with Nobody, which screened at Venice, SXSW and Rotterdam.

Hubert Miłkowski: From Netflix to Independent Cinema

A graduate of the National Film School in Łódź, Hubert Miłkowski gained wider recognition through the Netflix series The Woods. He subsequently appeared in Operation Hyacinth and Braty, for which he received a Zbigniew Cybulski Award nomination.

One of his most notable performances came in Norwegian Dream, in which he plays a young migrant confronting questions of identity and belonging. The role earned him the Best Actor award at the Iris Prize. His recent work includes the HBO series Women’s Hell and the short film Song of the Night.

Jarmo Reha: Between Experimental Theatre and Estonian Cinema

Jarmo Reha studied acting at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre before joining Theatre NO99. He subsequently developed experimental theatre projects and collaborated with the Brussels-based company [e]utopia.

He has received several Estonian theatre award nominations and won the 2026 EFTA Award for Best Actor in Film for Mo Papa. His screen work includes three collaborations with director Eeva Mägi: Mo Papa, Mo Amor and Mo Hunt.

An International Jury and New Opportunities

The ten participants were selected by an international jury comprising casting directors Pauline Hansson (Sweden), Nina Haun (Germany), Yngvill Kolset Haga (Norway), Anders Nygaard (Denmark) and Lana Veenker (United States), president of the International Casting Directors Association (ICDA).

Talent agents Janey van Ierland, from the Netherlands, and Richard Cook, from the United Kingdom, also served on the jury.

The selected performers will receive the Black Nights Stars Discovery Campus ICDA Award and have the opportunity to meet international casting directors, talent agents, producers and filmmakers. The aim is to foster professional relationships that may lead to future film projects.

European Talent Beyond Borders

The tenth edition of Black Nights Stars reflects a clear transformation in the European audiovisual industry. The participants’ careers no longer necessarily develop within a single national cinema: some work simultaneously in theatre, television and film; others have found international streaming platforms a way to reach new audiences, while several combine acting with the creation of their own projects.

From Sámi-language productions to Baltic cinema, Black Nights Stars brings together experiences that resist being reduced to a single definition of European filmmaking.

Black Nights Stars 2026 will take place in Tallinn from November 16 to 21, as part of Discovery Campus, the talent development and training programme of the Black Nights Film Festival and its industry platform, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.