Astra Film Festival, taking place between the 16th and 22nd of October 2017, is the main screening platform and a catalyst for the latest documentary film productions in Romania. The selection of Romanian documentaries within the 2017 AFF programme is divided into 3 competitive sections: Romania, Student, Shorts.
The fellowship of filmmakers, or the Romanian documentary filmmakers invite you in Sibiu to a broad professional programme: DocumentaryTank@AFF (19th -21st of October), a platform dedicated to the film industry that will bring local and European filmmakers to Sibiu for 3 days of networking, masterclass sessions and presentations about the new trends in the documentary film production and distribution. Romanian Docs in Progress (21st of October) is also part of this programme, where the authors of 16 ongoing documentary film projects will be there to meet the representatives of the European industry. 6 Romanian directors will present their ongoing documentary film projects before a jury, the local audience and international professionals. The winning teams will receive post-production awards and other forms of support in order to complete their documentaries.
“The fact that a Romanian documentary film project which developed last year within the “Romanian Docs in Progress” programme is selected in the competition proves that this programme has a favorable effect on the expansion of a documentary film industry in Romania. Furthermore, the film will have the world premiere at Astra Film Festival, marking a turning point in the festival phenomenon in Romania” - stated Dumitru Budrala, the director of AFF.
The camera of documentary filmmakers analyzes Romania, questions its past and reveals unexplored issues. In 2017, Romania is a world leader in the video chat and cybersex market, making a profit of over 100 million euros. Numbers speak of the scale of this type of job: the business thrives in 3,000 studios, where 100,000 young women attracted by a big income offer their services. In its first run, Phoenixxx (Mihai Gavril Dragolea), a poignant and open documentary, introduces us to the world of two young women and their lives outside video chat, with their daily routines, family environment and the prospects for the future.
Documentary filmmakers have taught us how to see and re-discover a different facet of what we thought we knew, by changing our point of view and selection. Filmmaker Radu Jude in The Dead Nation, a stinging film through its minimalistic depth, made of purposely tame archive images, illustrates fragments of a Jewish doctor’s journal, describing the Romanians’ anti-Semitic actions between 1930 and 1940, and strikes a deep chord by reviewing the national myth of Romanians not being anti-Semitic. Guided by the prospects of self-taught massage therapists of the resort, we discover the micro-universe of Baile Herculane falling into a perpetual post-communist decline (I am Hercules, Marius Iacob), or the coal-mining town of Petrila, seen through the eyes of remarkable locals and illustrating the success of miner Catalin Cenusa and artist Ion Barbu (Planet Petrila, Andrei Dăscălescu). Or the micro-universe of a family of Kalderash Roma people from the village of Corcova, Mehedinti County in The last Kalderash (Cosmin Bumbuț, Elena Stancu) caught between the traditional work on the brink of disappearance and the migration to the West as a survival alternative. The portrait of a woodworker from Maramures, A film less happy, more sad, poetical and wise (Cornel Mihalache) is a collage of the life and thoughts of a native storyteller. The side street of Europe (Emese Ambrus) is a road-movie around Transylvania, a glimpse into the Hungarian diaspora, offering a double perspective on these villages and a woman’s struggle to make it as an actress. In The trial (Claudiu Mitcu), Mihai Moldoveanu, a former army officer sentenced to 25 years in prison for a crime he claims he didn’t commit, presents his case and offers the viewer the position of a juryman in a complex and controversial case. Romania, the great spring clean (Ruxandra Annonier) presents characters involved in the fight against corruption in Romania, both at institutional level and within NGOs.
You can find the full list of Romanian documentaries selected in the 2017 AFF programme at www.astrafilm.ro.
Astra Film Festival 2017 is organized by Astra Film, CNM Astra and the Astra Film Foundation
With the support of Sibiu County Council, the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, the European Union – through the Creative Europe-Media programme and the National Centre for Cinematography
Co-financed by Sibiu Local Council through Sibiu City Hall
In collaboration with Lucian Blaga University
Partners: Romanian Cultural Institute, UCIN – Romanian Filmmakers Union, Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sibiu, Cinetic, Refresh
Digital partner: Urby
Title sponsor: Construcții SA
Sponsors: Romgaz, Electrica, Banca Transilvania, Takata, Aqua Carpatica, Happy City, HBO, Cinelab
Car of the festival: Toyota
Media partners: TVR, Europa FM, HotNews, Revista 22, VICE, Revista Timpul, Transilvania Reporter, Cineuropa, Film New Europe, Radio România Cultural, Radio România Actualități, Radio Cluj, Radio Antena Sibiului, Radio Târgu Mureș, RFI România, Cinemagia, LiterNet, CineFan, Sub25, All About Romanian Cinema, Cooperativa Urbană, ÎnFestival, Recorder, Iqads, Filmtett, Zile și Nopți, Tribuna, Turnul Sfatului, Sibiu 100%, Eveniment TV, Ora de Sibiu
