Irish 'shooting star' selected for Berlin International Film Festival

Young Irish actress, Ruth Negga, who features alongside Cillian Murphy in Neil Jordan’s 'Breakfast On Pluto', has been selected as the 2006 Irish Shooting Star at the International Berlin Film Festival from 11-13 February.
A graduate from the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin, Negga is considered to be one of the bright lights of her generation and has won critical acclaim for her varied roles in many classic and contemporary stage productions. She has performed in the Abbey Theatre, the Peacock and toured internationally with the Royal Court Theatre’s production of Duck and the Druid Theatre Company’s Playboy of the Western World. For her role as Cat in Duck, she was nominated for the prestigious 2004 Lawrence Olivier Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer of 2003.
Negga’s film performances include the lead role of Mary in 'Isolation' directed by Billy O’Brien, which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2005 and is due for release in Ireland later this year. She also played the lead role of Taiwo in 'Capital Letters' directed by Ciarán O'Connor, Lolita in 'Colour Me Kubrick' directed by Brian W. Cook.
The Shooting Star programme is organised by the European Film Promotion (EFP) and recognises the talents of up and coming young actors from 21 European countries at the Berlin Film Festival every year. The event provides an opportunity for each Shooting Star to meet individually with the press, to be introduced to a host of European casting directors at an industry breakfast event and to meet key industry guests at the renowned annual Shooting Stars Gala. Each Shooting Star is also presented with an Award recognising the actors’ achievements to date.
(CD)