The Astra Film International Documentary Film Festival (Sibiu, October 20-27, 2024) offers the public more than 100 films produced in countries from all continents. Most productions will be premiered in Sibiu.
In autumn, documentaries are shown at Astra Film, in the beautiful city of Sib
“We look forward to being together again in the 31st year of the festival. I believe that this year’s selection is one of the most valuable and I am convinced that our audience, the Astra Film Festival community, will fill the halls and applaud the brave and talented directors who have entrusted us with their productions“, said Dumitru Budrala, Astra Film Festival director.
ROMANIA
The selection for the competition section Romania brings before the spectators uncomfortable, even disturbing realities of recent history, which we avoid talking about, but which catch up with us, and life stories about the realities of our society: minors left to their fate and forced to- and take destiny into their own hands, vulnerable elderly who have to face inhumane situations, young gays who want love, acceptance and equal rights, or seemingly perfect families, but inside which there is a disturbance that leads to radical actions.
Six of the 11 selected films are premieres (four world premieres and two national premieres). World premieres: Bloody Photos (dir. Copel Moscu, 2024), A Family Almost Perfect (dir. Tudor Platon, 2024), Forbidden (dir. Anelise Salan, 2024) and Family Movies (dir. Dan Curean, 2024). National premieres: Triton (dir. Ana Lungu, 2024), 24 hours (dir. Harald Friedl, 2024). The other films in the Romania competition: Vis. Life (dir. Ruxandra Gubernat), How can I be dead, if I’m alive? (dir. Ilinca Călugăreanu, 2024), The Death of Iosif Zagor (dir. Adrian Dohotaru, 2024), Between Silence and Sin (dir. Diana Nicolae, 2024), Alice On & Off (dir. Isabela Tent, 2024), Maia – portrait with hands (dir. Alexandra Gulea, 2024), As the clock strikes (dir. Fecső Zoltán, 2023).
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
The productions in this section evoke specific realities and talk about the dissolution of the industrial heritage of the countries of the former communist bloc, captured in a post-apocalyptic landscape (The Shipyard – director Elvis Lenić), about absurd gifts during the electoral campaign in the states of Eastern Europe (Smiling Georgia – dir. Luka Beradze), about the always surprising customs of the ancestral world found in the mountains of Albania (Who is the man in the house? – dir. Kristine Nrecaj, Birthe Templin) or about a special community in Germany, the Sorbs (We call them Hanka – d. Grit Lemke).
The dominant theme remains the war in Ukraine (Songs of the Burning Earth – dir. Olha Zhurba; Photophobia – dir. Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekarčík). In Dogs Bark, Caravan Passes (dir. Aslkod Kurov, Anonymous1) we have a unique behind-the-scenes perspective of the resistance of journalists and activists in Russia, as the migrant crisis in the dispute and the echoes of political tensions in Europe are felt at the borders of Poland (Forest – r. Lidia Duda). In the film TATA (dir. Lina Vdovii, Radu Ciorniciuc), premiered in Romania, the protagonist’s daughter manages to help her father to be rewarded for the serious abuses he was subjected to over the years by his employer in Italy. And the ungrateful situation of Eastern European workers in Western Europe is exposed in Mirage of the West (dir. Apolena Rychlíková). The world premiere of this section is the film by Ioana Grigore (Leo Records: Only for our friends), about resistance through jazz music during the communist regime
EMERGING VOICES OF THE DOCUMENTARY
Produced in countries such as Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Iran, Norway, Portugal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Slovakia, the USA and Ukraine, the films of this section (curator Andreea Mihalcea) privilege a polyphony of perspectives and female protagonists (Flying Lessons – dir. Elizabeth Nichols), describe the individual histories of female filmmakers who become platforms of resistance and opposition, by sanctioning patriarchal power relations in Iranian society (My Stolen Planet – dir. Farahnaz Sharifi; Shahid – dir. Narges Kalhor) , are interested in everyday life and queer identity (I’m not everything I want to be – director Klára Tasovská) or present the transformation of education into indoctrination as a tool of control and nationalism in Georgia (Since I’ve known myself – director Maka Gogaladze).
In fact, the ex-Soviet space is relevant in several of the films in this section (Fragments on the Ice – dir. Maria Stoianova; Intercepted – dir. Oksana Karpovych), other important coordinates being the social analysis (Savanna and the mountain – dir. Paulo Carneiro ), the appeal to religion and solidarity, in the context of post-colonialism and the interests of multinational and geopolitical corporations in Portugal and Congo (Night Rebellion – director Nelson Makengo) or the filtering of the collective mind and imaginary through the prism of the intersection between myth, cultural iconography and socio-political history of the United States (Henry Fonda president – dir. Alexander Horwath).
DOC SCHOOL
AFF’s student films are both mature and fresh, presenting current topics and seeking original approaches. They are produced by students from all over the world, from: the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts from Chisinau, the Doc Nomads University Consortium (Belgium, Portugal, Hungary), Filmways from Bucharest, Hasifa from the Open University of Israel, HELB from Kenya, INSAS Higher Institute of Arts and LUCA School of Arts in Brussels, Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television in Jerusalem, Tomas Bata University in the Czech Republic, UNATC in Bucharest, University of the Arts in Berlin, University of Television and Film in Munich and Wajda Studio in Warsaw.
A few dozen other films will be screened within Astra Film Junior (education through documentary film), in the Doc Tank training and development program, in the immersive space at Cinema DOM in Piața Mare and throughout the many special programs of the festival. The public will also be able to participate in exhibitions, concerts, parties and surprise events. Early bird subscriptions can be purchased until September 10.
