– The event attended by actors, casting directors, talent agents and filmmakers continues to strengthen regional ties and open new international pathways
The 12 actors who took part in ReActing as a Star 2026
In Kranj, the capital of the Slovenian Alps, ReActing as a Star has just celebrated its fifth edition. Over three days, actors, casting directors, talent agents and filmmakers came together to exchange experiences and build new connections. Across its five editions, the programme has grown into an ecosystem whose strength lies precisely in the dialogue between regional talent and an increasingly diverse network of international industry professionals.
This year’s iteration brought together 12 actors from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia: Lea Mihevc, Urban Kuntarić and Klemen Novak from Slovenia; Romina Tonković and Roko Sikavica from Croatia; Isidora Simijonović and Miodrag Dragićević from Serbia; Maja Izetbegović and Zlatan Vidović from Bosnia and Herzegovina; Jelena Laban and Lazar Dragojević from Montenegro; and Slagana Vujoshevikj from North Macedonia.
Together, they offered a compelling snapshot of the region’s contemporary acting landscape. The line-up mixed established theatre performers with screen actors whose careers already include regional awards and major international productions, offering a glimpse of the richness of the region’s contemporary acting scene.
What makes ReActing as a Star particularly distinctive is that it is not only a showcase of talent. The actors spend three days in direct conversation with the people who shape the industry from different perspectives: casting directors searching for authenticity, talent agents building long-term careers, and filmmakers reflecting on the relationship between performance and storytelling. The conversations reveal how closely these professions depend on one another.
Among the first guests was Slovenian actress Katarina Čas, whose international breakthrough came with John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard, in which she starred alongside Brendan Gleeson, followed by appearances in films such as Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Danny Collins (opposite Al Pacino) and Terminal. Under the title “From Slovenia to Global Screen”, she reflected on forging an international career while remaining rooted in one of Europe’s smaller film industries, a journey many of this year’s participants hope to replicate.
Another guest, US actor Darren Pettie, brought a different perspective. A Juilliard graduate whose career spans theatre, television and cinema, from Mad Men to the recent Foundation, he offered participants a rare insight into the realities and specificities of working in the US industry, where longevity often depends as much on consistency and adaptability as on breakthrough roles.
If Čas and Pettie offered two different perspectives on international acting careers, the programme’s core remains its direct encounters with casting directors. Their role extends far beyond selecting actors for individual productions: often the earliest to recognise emerging talent, they also serve as the first bridge between regional performers and the wider European audiovisual landscape.
This year’s guests included Sweden’s Pauline Hansson, known for her collaborations with Ruben Östlund on The Square and Triangle of Sadness; Sarajevo-based Timka Grin; Italy’s Maurilio Mangano and Teresa Razzauti; Denmark’s returning guest Anders Nygaard; Britain’s Claudia Blunt; and Germany’s Alexandra Koknat. Through individual meetings, they offered participants something increasingly rare in today’s industry: time for conversation, feedback and mutual discovery, opening the door to future collaborations that often begin long before a formal audition.
The programme also expanded the conversation beyond casting. Croatian writer and journalist Srđan Sandić introduced the participating actors through a series of showreel presentations and conversations, while award-winning Montenegrin director Ivan Marinović reflected on the creative relationship between filmmaker and performer. Maurilio Mangano’s workshop “Worlding in an Empty Box – The Self Tape as an Act of Creation” approached the self tape not as a technical exercise, but as an act of authorship. The concluding panel “Play Locally, Act Internationally”, bringing together regional and international talent agents, including Joseph Powell from Curtis Brown, shifted the focus towards representation and the practical realities of building an international career.
Over five years, ReActing as a Star has brought together more than 70 actors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia alongside an impressive network of international casting directors, producers, filmmakers and talent agents. Through Tina Hajon’s long-term vision and commitment to fostering dialogue between regional talent and international professionals, the platform has steadily expanded its reach while creating concrete professional opportunities for a new generation of actors.
The programme is produced by Pari Pikule and Secret Arts Cinema in partnership with the Slovenian Film Centre, and with the support of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), Film Center Serbia and the Film Centre of Montenegro. Its international relevance is further strengthened by its long-standing collaboration with the International Casting Directors Association (ICDA) and the Casting Society (CSA).
