Lovely Astra has turned 20 this year. The international film fest for documentary and anthropological films may be more modest in appearance than other festivals but for documentary lovers, social activists, and generally open-minded, passionate audiences, it's pure bliss. The best present to itself, and its audience, is its switch from a biennial to an annual event. So happy birthday, dear Astra, to many more!

The anniversary edition kicked off on Monday and will end this Sunday, October 20. The selection is as wide in its scope and international as always. The touching family portrait Forget Me Not, the inspirational civic story Bogotá Change, the ravishingly beautiful fishing industry documentary Leviathan or this year's revelation, the jaw-dropping murderer portrait The Act of Killing, stand next to less-known features focusing, among others, on the unknown part of tourist Mecca Venice (The Venice Syndrome), being transgender in India (In-Between Days), the only woman in a Turkish club (The Bridge Club), a girl's life in remote Chinese mountain village (Three Sisters), or a nun's artistic and human rebellion in a Russian monastery (Losing Sonia).

The Romanian entries are no less impressive, including the thoughtful essay on women and labour 8 Martie/8^th of March, a sensitive look at the stories behind pictures on tombstones (După fel și chip/As You Like It - one of my favourite shorts this year), the absurd theatre in the town hall of Piatra Neamț (În numele primarului/In Mayor's Name), the lives of Chinese immigrants in Bucharest (Anul Dragonului/Bucharest - The Year of the Dragon), a ride through Bucharest's seediest areas (City Tour), or a guy's hair-raisingly hilarious attempts to prove he's 'normal' (Dacă 6 ar fi 9/If 6 were 9).

Once again I am touched by the festival's homage payed not only to major global issues but mostly to “normal scenes” and “normal people”, whether they act in casual or extraordinary circumstances, to the attention payed to often neglected realities surrounding us, to the underdog. It is truly a celebration of outsiders and the fringes of society.

I always mutter a bit about the poor technical quality of some of the films or their ordinary look (with some features you can tell it's more the passionate sociology student making a movie than a film-educated director) but in the end the sheer originality of themes and the anthropological insights prevail and every year I am left amazed, shaken, enraged, and utterly touched. And even if this makes me sound dangerously didactic: yes, having learnt so much more about history, culture, and politics. So rush to Sibiu if you aren't there already. I can promise you this gem of a festival is an eye-opening experience you'll cherish for a long time.

by Ioana Moldovan, columnist, ioana.moldovan@romania-insider.com