Rising Stars 2019

Each year, TIFF Rising Stars showcases new Canadian and international acting talent during the Toronto International Film Festival, placing the emphasis on the next generation who are poised for international success.


Shamier Anderson

Select television credits include Wynonna Earp (16– ) and Amazon’s Goliath (18), on which Anderson is a regular. Notable features include Across the Line (15); roles opposite Nicole Kidman in Destroyer, which premiered at TIFF 2018, and opposite Johnny Depp in City of Lies (18); and Endings, Beginnings, which is premiering at TIFF 2019. Anderson recently wrapped on Spike Lee’s Son of the South and Stowaway, opposite Anna Kendrick. Anderson and his brother Stephan James co-founded the B.L.A.C.K. Ball, an event hosted in Toronto during TIFF and in Los Angeles during Oscars season.

Kacey Rohl

Kacey Rohl is from Vancouver. Her first onscreen appearance was the TV series V (09–11). She is best known for her roles in Red Riding Hood (11), The Killing (11–14), Arrow (12– ), Hannibal (13–15), Wayward Pines (15–16), and The Magicians (15–19). She is currently shooting the TV series Fortunate Son.

Nahéma Ricci

Nahéma Ricci was born in Montreal. As an interpreter, she has participated in multiple film projects and the stage production cet intervalle (17). As a performer, Ricci’s onscreen credits include Ailleurs (17) and the upcoming Antigone. She is also the author, director, and interpreter of the play Identikit (19), which was presented at Montreal’s Fringe Festival. She recently completed the 2018–19 Dance as a Profession program at Danceworks in Berlin. In the near future, she will appear in the independent drama Before El Finâ and will serve as interpreter for the film De guerre lasse, in pre-production.

Mikhaïl Ahooja

Mikhaïl Ahooja is a Montreal-based actor who is very active in Quebec. He has appeared in numerous plays, TV shows, and movies. Recent television credits include Au secours de Béatrice (14– ), Prémonitions (16– ), and Juste nous deux (19–). He has also starred in the feature films La Maison du pêcheur (13), Fabuleuses (19), and The Twentieth Century, which is making its World Premiere at TIFF 2019.

Chino Darín

Chino Darín is most known for his breakout performance as Alejandro Puccio in the TV series Historia de un clan (15). His film credits include The Queen of Spain (16), A Twelve-Year Night (18), El Angel (18), and the upcoming Heroic Losers. He is the son of the renowned actor Ricardo Darín.

Geraldine Viswanathan

Geraldine Viswanathan is an Australian actor. Her credits include Blockers (18), Hala (19), the TV series Miracle Workers (19– ), and Bad Education, which is making its World Premiere at TIFF 2019. She is currently filming Natalie Krinsky’s romantic comedy The Broken Heart Gallery.

Josefine Frida

Josefine Frida is a Norwegian actor. Her credits include the TV series Skam (15–17), stage productions of the musicals Hair and Robin Hood, and the feature film Disco, which is making its World Premiere at TIFF 2019.

Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. is an American actor. In 2017, Filmmaker Magazine named him one of “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” He first garnered attention in It Comes at Night (17), which received critical acclaim and earned him a Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Breakthrough Actor. Other credits include Monsters and Men (18), Luce (19), and Waves, which is premiering at TIFF 2019.