The main themes of #AFF2021, The Climate Collapse Alert, Couples in Troubled Waters, Procreating the New Way, Improper Death and Borders, cover some of the most important and deepest topics of the moment.
The Astra Film Festival Sibiu, now in its 28th edition, will present 200 cinematic events, including the special programme for float-in film screenings called The Lifeboats, which will include productions made by journalists from Recorder and from the "Romania, I love you!" (Pro TV) show. And of course, the inevitable surprises.
The events can be watched in cinemas, outdoors and online: at the Astra Museum (The Lake Stage, Târgul de Țara, Amphitheater, The Windmills), in Piața Mică, at the Astra Film Studio and at the Besoiu Center. The complete programme, tickets, and other details are available on the festival’s website: https://astrafilm.ro.
Special events during the first day of the festival
The opening gala will start at 6pm at the Lake Stage inside the Astra Museum and will be followed by the premiere of the `Once You Know` (2021 - France, directed by Emmanuel Cappelle) film. It is a shocking film, whose conclusion (`Climate change will bring the world to collapse`) has every chance to change the viewers' opinion on the future of humanity. Immediately after the film, the audience is invited to take part in a debate moderated by journalist Teodora Tompea, whose special guest will be Bogdan Antonescu, specialist in extreme meteorological phenomena. Afterwards, starting at 9:30pm, the concert of Martyn Jacques of The Tiger Lillies will follow.
The Tiger Lillies
The organizers had to choose from 3,000 films from around the world, from India to Colombia and from Norway to Burkina Faso. The selection made by the organizers will propose many awards; more than four out of five films will be seen for the first time in Romania, and among them are numerous world premieres.
`The Astra Film Festival is the most important festival of this kind in Romania, summing up a culture and a history of documentary cinema for decades. The official selection will confirm this, proposing remarkable films and many premieres. Films that you can only see in Sibiu, and nowhere else. Stories of people, their way of being. Always deep, unadorned films that touch you in a certain way, that can change you, and throw you back into your life with more maturity and wisdom ", said Dumitru Budrala, founding director of the Astra Film Festival.
Dumitru Budrala
There will be four competition sections (Emerging Voices of the Documentary, Central and Eastern Europe, Romania and DocSchool), and the prizes worth 20,000 euros are offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute, HBO Europe, the German Consulate in Sibiu, The Romanian Filmmakers Union, Cinelabs.
Astra Film DokTank, the programme dedicated to the film industry
The professional profile of the 28th edition of Astra Film Festival is completed by Astra Film DokTank (September 6th-12th), a consistent programme dedicated to the film industry. It will be a hybrid edition: some activities will take place in Sibiu, others online.
`The Astra Film DokTank programme aims to encourage the development and growth of the Romanian and European documentary industry. Through this programme we select and promote projects in all stages of development, offering documentary filmmakers a platform to interact with industry experts and find potential partners for their projects, ` says Kato Csilla, artistic director of Astra Film Festival.
Astra Film Lab is an intensive four-day workshop for film projects, consisting of mentoring programs, discussions, one-to-one meetings, and a public pitch in front of an audience of experts and representatives of the documentary film industry. Astra Film Lab focuses on projects and teams in the region, with the purpose of facilitating international exchanges. For this year's edition, 11 projects from Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, and Romania were selected.
Furthermore, during the Dok Tank days, there will be meetings and round tables on topics such as the future of documentary film on television and the making of the first documentary feature film, with the participation of students from European film universities, plus four major events: A life behind the camera, Stereotypes and Ethics in Documentary Filmmaking, Salome Jashi’s Masterclass and Christoph Krutzler’s Workshop.
A LIFE BEHIND THE CAMERA. Documentary enthusiasts will have the opportunity to meet a very special guest, Gary Clarke, one of the most acclaimed film directors in the UK, nominated for the Emmy Awards. Gary Clarke will give a masterclass, "Looking for the Real: The Ethics of the Drama Documentary" (Wednesday, September 8th, at 2pm) and will have a discussion with Liviu Tipuriță - nominated at BAFTA (Thursday, September 9th, 2pm). Both meetings will take place at the CHANGES Hall at the main entrance of the Dumbrava Museum in Sibiu. Admission is free, subject to availability.
STEREOTYPES AND ETHICS IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING. A short history of the documentary and the presentation of some ideas that have been the subject of debate since the creation of the first moving images and continue to influence visual productions today. Presentation by Dr. Oana Ivan, assistant professor of the master's program in documentary film at the Faculty of Theatre and Film at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca.
MASTERCLASS SALOME JASHI. A discussion with Salome Jashi from Georgia, moderated by critic Ionuț Mureș. Salome Jashi is one of the most interesting names on the current documentary scene. Her films have been selected and awarded at festivals such as Visions du reel in Switzerland and Sundance in the USA. 5 years ago, she won the Astra Film Award for Best Film in Central and Eastern Europe (with The Dazzling Light of Sunset). This year, she is present in the official selection with a parable film, Taming the Garden.
WORKSHOP CHRISTOPH KRUTZLER. Christoph Krutzler, one of the most valuable theatre and film actors in Austria, will hold a workshop in English on the mutual influences of documentary and fiction (September 11th, 1pm - Open-Air Museum in Dumbrava Sibiului , “Changes” Hall, Pavilion at Entrance 1). Krutzler is a special guest of the premiere of the #newTogether documentary (directed by Carmen Lidia Vidu and produced by the Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest).
43 titles from the official selection, also available at the Astra Film Online
This year's edition will also include an online component, in which 43 titles from the official selection can be viewed from anywhere in Romania.
The films will become accessible after their physical screening in Sibiu and will remain available on the festival platform for a week after the end of the physical edition, meaning until September 19th at 11:30pm.
Details about the online films and how to purchase tickets and season tickets will be available on the festival’s website www.astrafilm.ro starting Monday, September 6th, 2021.
The AFF2021 Concerts
As always, the Astra Film Festival offers AFF Vibrations, a series of concerts by bands highly appreciated by the audiences, regardless of their age. Thus, the audience is expected to sing and dance with the artists from Martyn Jacques of The Tiger Lillies: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Cine-Concert) - on Sunday, September 5th, 9:30pm (Lake Stage). The band’s three members, Adrian Stout, Martyn Jacques, and Jonas Golland developed their own musical style - an original combination of opera, gypsy music and experimental rock.
Other recommended concerts: Taraful Jean Americani and Corina Sârghi on Wednesday, September 8th, at 10:30pm in Piata Mica; DJ Kosta - Thursday, September 9th, 2pm (Targ de Tara); Mădălina Pavăl - Saturday, September 11th, 2pm (Targ de Tara).
The full programme of the festival: https://www.astrafilm.ro/ro/program-orar?date=5
Tickets and locations: https://www.astrafilm.ro/ro/bilete-si-locatii
The 28th edition of Astra Film Festival - Sibiu International Documentary Film Festival celebrates life, in all its diversity, through its over 200 cinematic events. Launched in 1993 as an innovative project in Central and Eastern Europe, AFF Sibiu is an essential event in the European documentary film community, proving to be the most important festival of its kind in Romania, summing up a culture and a history of documentary cinema. for decades.
Organized by: Astra Film, CNM Astra and the Astra Film Foundation.
With the support of: The Sibiu County Council, The Ministry of Culture, The National Center of Cinematography, The Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sibiu, The Austrian Cultural Forum, The Filmmakers Union.
Co-financed by the Sibiu Local Council through the City Hall of Sibiu and by the European Union through the Creative Europe Program.
The Astra Film Festival takes place under the High Patronage of the President of Romania.
Sponsors: HBO, DPD România, Materom Autohaus, Cinelab, Ursus, Nod Pub, The Refresh, Kulinarium, Sonne Restaurant Cafe
Media partners: TV5 Monde, Rock FM, Radio România Cultural, RFI România, Hotnews, News.ro, Newsweek, Spotmedia, Scena9, Avantaje, Liternet, Cineuropa, Film New Europe, Movienews, All About Romanian Cinema, Films in frame, Urban,ro, Turnul sfatului, Sibiu 100%, Tribuna, Ora de Sibiu, Știri de Sibiu, Capital cultural, Zile și nopți, Revista Transilvania, Hermanstaedter
Communication partner: PiArt Vision
