Now in its eighth year at the Hamptons International Film Festival, the unique Breakthrough Performers Program introduces festival audiences and the film industry to up-and-coming actors whose stellar performances have contributed critically to the films selected for the Festival. This year, the Festival is proud to partner again with European Film Promotion to present three European Shooting Stars alongside the three North American Rising Stars. Please join the international group of Breakthrough Performers in an informal and intimate discussion about the craft of acting, how their process compares in different countries, and what their experiences were making the films that will screen at the 2009 Hamptons Film Festival. Participants include North American Rising Stars: Zach Gilford and Emmy Rossum, both featured in DARE; Emma Stone, featured in PAPER MAN; Rooney Mara, featured in TANNER HALL, and European Shooting Stars: Cyron Melville (Denmark), featured in LOVE AND RAGE, and Alba Rohrwacher (Italy).

Moderated by Rajendra Roy, Chief Curator of the Film Department at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, former Artistic Director of HIFF.