This year's EFA Conference SHOP TALK: Actors Talk About Their Work will focus on the special conditions of being an actor in Europe. Moderated by the British film journalist and author Peter Cowie, the EFA Conference will see renowned actors from across Europe discussing their work with colleagues and friends.

The conference will be opened by Wim Wenders, president of the European Film Acdemy, and by the conference's patrons, the Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann and Assumpta Serna, Spanish actress and member of the EFA Board.

Starting off with the discussion ACTING AS A VOCATION, Irina Björklund (Shooting Star from Finland) and the British actor Jeremy Irons will talk about the motivation for becoming an actor. Taking it up from there, the actors Enrique Alcides (Spain) and Maria Gracia Cucinotta (Italy) will discuss how success can be influenced by the right agent in a session titled THE POWER OF MY AGENT. Baltasar Kormakur from Iceland and Thekla Reuten (Shooting Star from the Netherlands) will talk about a typical situation for many actors in Europe: ACTING IN SMALL COUNTRIES - PROBLEMS AND ADVANTAGES.



After a keynote by Russian actor and director Nikita Mikhalkov on SEDUCING THE AUDIENCE, the second part of the conference will kick off with a conversation between Hungarian director István Szabó and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård: EUROPEAN STARS: ILLUSION OR REALITY? In the session CROSSING BORDERS the actors Michele Placido (Italy) and Jerzy Stuhr (Poland) will talk about their experiences as actors who cross over to direct. As a closing highlight, Franka Potente (Germany) and Jean-Marc Barr (France) will talk about finding your place in the film industry: HOW TO SUCCEED IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT.

As part of the weekend programme, fourteen (out of the 21) up-and coming actors who were selected as Shooting Stars 2004 will participate in the EFA Conference. Presented by the European Film Promotion, Shooting Stars are young actors from across Europe who are at the start of their international careers. (more information at www.efp-online.com)

This year's EFA Conference, taking place on occasion of the European Film Awards 2004 on Saturday, December 11, in Barcelona, is organised with the support of the Spanish Ministerio de Cultura, Generalitat de Catalunya and Ajuntament de Barcelona, the MEDIA Plus Programme of the EU, FFA German Federal Film Fund, the Nordic Film & TV Fund and Jaguar Cars Ltd.