The International Documentary Festival Astra Film announced its selection for this year’s edition, which will take place in Sibiu from October 20 to 27. Most productions will be presented for the first time in the Romanian city.

The selection for the Romania competitive section includes 11 films that bring to the forefront “uncomfortable, even disturbing realities of recent history that we tend to avoid discussing, but which are catching up with us,” the organizers said. 

“It also features life stories reflecting the realities of our society: minors left to fend for themselves and forced to take their destinies into their own hands, vulnerable elderly people facing inhumane situations, young gay individuals seeking love, acceptance, and equal rights, or seemingly perfect families struggling with inner turmoil that leads to radical actions,” reads the press release.

Six of the 11 selected films are premieres (four world premieres and two national ones). World premiers include Bloodied Photographs (dir. Copel Moscu, 2024), An Almost Perfect Family (dir. Tudor Platon, 2024), Forbidden (dir. Anelise Salan, 2024), and Family Movies (dir. Dan Curean, 2024). Meanwhile, Triton (dir. Ana Lungu, 2024) and 24 Hours (dir. Harald Friedl, 2024) are on the list of national premieres.

The productions in the Central and Eastern European section evoke specific realities, discussing the dissolution of the industrial heritage in former communist countries captured in a post-apocalyptic landscape (Ship - dir. Elvis Lenić), absurd gifts during election campaigns in Eastern European states (Smiling Georgia - dir. Luka Beradze), surprising customs from the ancestral world in the mountains of Albania (House With A Voice - dir. Kristine Nrecaj, Birthe Templin), or a unique community in Germany, the Sorbs (We Call Her Hanka - dir. Grit Lemke).

The dominant theme remains the war in Ukraine (Songs of the Slow Burning Earth - dir. Olha Zhurba; Photophobia - dir. Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekarčík). Meanwhile, in Of Caravan And The Dogs (dir. Aslkod Kurov, Anonymous1), viewers get a unique perspective from behind the scenes of the resistance by journalists and activists in Russia, while the migrant crisis and the echoes of political tensions in Europe are felt at the borders of Poland (Forest - dir. Lidia Duda).

At the same time, produced in countries like Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Iran, Norway, Portugal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Slovakia, USA, and Ukraine, the films in the New Voices in Documentary Cinema section privilege a polyphony of perspectives and female protagonists (Flying Lessons - dir. Elizabeth Nichols). 

Other productions describe individual histories of female filmmakers that become platforms of resistance and opposition by denouncing patriarchal power relations in Iranian society (My Stolen Planet - dir. Farahnaz Sharifi; Shahid - dir. Narges Kalhor), explore everyday life and queer identity (I’m Not Everything I Want to Be - dir. Klára Tasovská), or present the transformation of education into indoctrination as a tool for control and nationalism in Georgia (Ever Since I Knew Myself - dir. Maka Gogaladze).

Also part of this year’s program, in the Docschool section, student films at AFF display both maturity and freshness, addressing current topics and seeking original approaches.

Several dozen other films will be screened as part of Astra Film Junior (education through documentary film), in the training and development program Doc Tank, in the immersive space of the Cinema DOM in Piața Mare, and throughout the numerous special programs of the festival.

The public can also attend exhibitions, concerts, parties, and surprise events.

Early bird passes can be purchased until September 10 from the festival’s website.

The list of films in the four competitive sections can be found here.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Astra Film Festival)