Polish actress Kamila Urzędowska, who rose to fame for her leading role in “Chłopi” (The Peasants), has been named one of the most promising rising stars in European cinema.
The 29-year-old received international acclaim for her role as Jagna in the hand-painted animation film based on the book of the same name by Wladysław Reymont; telling the classic story of life in the Polish countryside over a century ago.Now, she has been listed among the top 10 European shooting Stars for 2024 by the European Film Promotion (EFP) organization.
Promoting young talent from across the region, jurors from the EFP’s European Shooting Star project said, “Her performance is amazing.Kamila has a versatile talent and is able to bring to life her heroine, who is innocent, tenacious and persistent at the same time.”
Award-wnning filmmakers Dorota Kobiela and her husband Hugh Welchman, who were also behind the animated film «Loving Vicent», explaining the reasons for choosing Urzędowska to play the role of Jagna, the film’s producer Sean Bobbit said, “We knew from the very beginning that casting the role of Jagna would be very crucial for the film. We wanted to have a new face in this role, so we decided to conduct a nationwide casting and we received about 600 recordings from candidates. It was important for us that the role of Jagna was played not only by ‘the most beautiful girl in Lipce’ but also that she had a mixture of girlish carefreeness, sex appeal, and feistiness. And this is what we saw in Kamila Urzędowska.”
The hand-painted movie from the directors of the award-winning animation “Loving Vicent” tells the story of the simple life of a peasant girl, Jagna, who has been forced to marry a much older farmer, despite her love for his son.
Urzędowska, who studied theatre in Wrocław is the eighth Pole to receive the EFP distinction and joins, among others, Bartosz Bielenia, who was awarded in 2020 for his role in Jan Komasa’s film “Corpus Christi”.
Launched 25 years ago, the European Shooting Stars program involves a network of cinema marketing organizations from 35 countries. Program director Tina Hajon said, “We are thrilled to present such a diverse selection of talented up-and-coming actors and actresses hailing from diverse cultural backgrounds and professional experiences.”
The Winners of the 2023 edition were announced at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival between February 16th and 19th, 2024.
Khaoula Semmoumy
Photo: press materials / public domain