The effects of migration, the history of Romanian ethnic commnunities, exceptional stories about special people; these are subjects transposed on the big screen in the form of observational documentaries, author’s film, essays or televison productions. At the end of each projection, the plot is discussed right in the cinema, and the public has direct contact with the film’s directors, producers or even its characters.
Film premiere at AFF!
The world première of Alyiah DaDa (directed by Oana Giurgiu) will take place at AFF 2014. The documentary presents the fate of the Jewish Romanian community throughout a century. How did Ceaușescu win a billion marks out of of selling 246.000 german ethnics?; we’ll find out from Trading Germans (directed by: Răzvan Georgescu), an HBO production which will also be premieredin Sibiu.
Waiting for August (directed by: Teodora Ana Mihai) follows the daily life of 7 children from Bacau who liveall by themselves, their mother helping them out through skype and telephonefrom Italy, where she left to work. The film won the big prize at Hot Docs 2014 in Toronto and the award for the best documentary at Karlovy Vary Film Festival and will be released for the first time in Romania at AFF. Resolutions 2014, (directed by: Mihai Cristian Tranca) an absolute premiere, portrays the efforts of ayoung entrepreneur who struggles to keep his bussines running in time of crisis.
Realities now...
Les Fleurs de l’ombre (directed by :Olivier Magis) introduces us into the backstage world of a beauty contest dedicated to the all the sightless women across Romania, held every year in Braila. How is literature promoted in postmodern Romania?; the CDPL Story documentary (directed by: Vlad Rotaru) will certainly tell us. Breadtime (directed by: Bjorn Reinhardt) is a collection of senior citizens of Rosia Montana portraits .
A great deal of night work activities, in London, are done by vulnerable immigrants who are subjectto abuse and negligence; the subject is reflected in Invisible Lives : Romanian night workers in London (directed by: Timothy Marrinan). Our Currency is Information (regia: Marek Tuszynski) presents methods of investigating coruption and organized crime from Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism’s founder Paul Radu’s point of view.
...and then!
The Forest (directed by: Sinisa Dragin), awarded at Vision du Réel and Sarajevo International Film Festival, tells the story of a painting offered by the romanian state in 1947 to the yugoslav leader Tito, which a few years later was part of an espionage business which could have affected to a great extent the relation between the two countries. Revision (directed by: Philip Scheffner) reconstructs the unclear case of two romanians accidentally shot in 1992 at the German boarder, in a time when the large number of illegal romanian immigrants from the western European cuntries generated violent responses on the part of racist extremists.
How did Security control, surveillance, and in some cases, suppress Romanian citizens?; „They started follwing me because I used to go to the American Library to take records for the jazz club, so they accused me of possible espionage for the Americans.”, a former politcal prisoner testifies in Supravegheat de Securitate (directed by: Nicolae Mărgineanu).
„Every year we are glad to notice that Romania produces documentary films. The productions are growing, and the subjects and cinematographic approach are ever varied and cast light on a different Romania from the one we know. Although there are still few ways, other than festivals and special projections, in which film documentary can reach the public in Romania, the interest for this genre is growing as well.” declared Dumitru Budrala, founding director of Astra Film Festival.
Astra Film Festival 2014, The Sibiu International Cinema Festival is organised by Astra Film - CNM Astra and Astra Film Foundation.
With the support of Sibiu County Council, National Center of Cinematography, Ministry of Culture, European Union through the Creative Europe-Media program
Partners: Romanian Cultural Institute ,The French Institute, The Czech Center, The Foundation for Partnership, German General Counsulate Sibiu
Co-financed by Sibiu City Council through Sibiu City Hall
Media partners: HBO, TV5 Monde, HotNews, Revista 22, Dilema Veche, Cinemagia, Decât O Revistă, Cațavencii, LiterNet, CinemaRX, Art Act Magazine, Port.ro, The ONE, CineFan, TOTB.ro, Sub 25, Vice, Filmtett, Ginger Group, Film Reporter, CinEuropa, Magic FM, Zile și Nopți, Tribuna, Turnul Sfatului, Sibiu 100%
