It’s the Berlin International Film Festival. The room is full of paparazzi, camera teams and the world’s media, eager to get photos and quotes. Their focus: the latest batch of “Shooting Stars” – one young actor or actress chosen from each European country as the hottest emerging talent in the film industry. Despite the hype the UK’s shooting star, Kate Dickie, keeps her expectations realistic. “I just want to work, full stop,” she says “I want to work internationally, and I’m just here to say, I’m open to anything.”
Dickie won the honour of being named the UK’s Shooting Star after appearing in the highly acclaimed Scottish film, Red Road, last year. Red Road was her first feature film, and she played Jackie, who works as a CCTV operator. “Each day she watches over a small part of the world, protecting the people living their lives under her gaze. One day a man appears on her monitor, a man she thought she would never see again, a man she never wanted to see again. Now she has no choice, she is compelled to confront him…” The film won the Jury Prize at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and Kate also won the Scottish BAFTA Best Actress and British Independent Film Award (BIFA) in 2006.
Kate has also had a distinguished British television career, being nominated for Best Television Performance BAFTA (Scotland) for Tinsel Town and playing lead roles in The Vice and Taggart, as well as many comedy roles for the BBC in Still Game, Rab, C Nesbitt and Isabelle. She is also a critically acclaimed theatre actress, having been nominated for Best Actress by The Stage for her performance in Electra, and has been a considerable presence on the cutting edge of new theatre writing in productions such as Running Girl for leading innovative Scottish companies such as Suspect Culture, Theatre Cryptic and Raindog.
Kate is one of 25 young actors and actresses recognised under the Shooting Stars awards this year. It is the 10th year of Shooting Stars, with the winners attending special events at last week’s Berlin International Film Festival that are “designed to encourage the international film industry, media and public to acknowledge the incredible screen talent that lies within Europe”. Previous stars have enjoyed rapid international rises to fame and Shooting Stars is now considered one of the most prominent showcases of acting talent. Winners in earlier years include Daniel Craig (James Bond, Layer Cake), Ludivine Sagnier (8 Femmes, Swimming Pool), Daniel Brühl (Good Bye, Lenin!, Salvador), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, The Mummy), Eduardo Noriega (Ché Guevara, Alatriste), Aňa Geislerová (Beauty In Trouble, Something Like Happiness) and Stefano Accorsi (La Faute Á Fidel, Romanzo Criminale).
Kate Dickie spoke to Arts Hub just before jetting off to Berlinale.
Why Acting? Did you always want to be an actress? How did you get into it?
I was always a show off, trying to vie for attention. I grew up in a family of 4 children, we moved around a lot and I joined drama classes. I decided at 10 that I wanted to become an actress. I wasn’t always encouraged to pursue it as a career – it was not advertised as the best career choice. I studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD).
Congratulations on being the UK’s shooting star – what does this award mean to you?
I’m really honoured to get the recognition, most of all. I was completely taken aback. I’m excited to meet the other actors in Berlin and I’m just hoping it will open things up for me. It’s fantastic to get everyone together with Shooting Stars, as we’re all going through similar things.
What are you hoping to get out of the Berlin film festival?
It probably sounds blaze, but I don’t mean it to. I’m just going to take it as it comes, I’ve not done feature film before, my background is in theatre and TV, so I’m just going to experience it for what it is – a wonderful opportunity.
Red Road was your first feature film but you’ve done lots of TV and theatre – do you prefer a particular form over another?
No, I don’t have a preference. My background is in theatre so I am used to it. Film is different, so I learnt skills and had to enter areas I wasn’t sure of, but I enjoyed it. I like it all.
Red Road is part of a trilogy in a Dogma inspired style – are you as closely involved in the next one?
Yes. It’s really interesting the way it works. There are various rules, and the same nine characters will be in the three films but it’s not a continuation. Each film has a different first time director, and the same characters are used but they are put in a different universe. So I don’t know what my character will be doing in the next films. The roles and film style and rules make you push different boundaries.
You’re acting in the National Theatre of Scotland tour of Aalst, which is described as “controversial” – are you looking forward to it?
It’s a horrific story. The play based on transcripts from the actual trial in Holland of the parents who murdered their children. It’s a disturbing piece of theatre but I like it – there’s not much movement in the staging, we sit in chairs, so the audience will have to pay close attention to the story. I’m having to go places that are very dark.
Do you have a favourite director or film?
They’re all Scottish – I hope I’m not being too parochial. In terms of films, Peter Mullan directed Orphans – it’s wonderful. You’re laughing and crying at the same time, and you come out a mess but you’ve been on a real journey. I find him inspiring. Other directors I like are Mike Lee and of course Andrea Arnold, who directed Red Road.
What have you sacrificed for your art?
A healthy bank balance.
What have you gained?
A lot of experiences I never would have had. Acting opens your mind and makes you less judgemental. It’s been good for me.
What advice would you give to a hopeful actress?
Steel yourself to have stamina and don’t take rejection personally. There’s always only one right person for a part, and you need to grow a thick skin.
You can watch video interviews with this year’s Shooting Stars online at www.cineuropa.org and see a trailer here.
