Astra Film Festival in Romania: Three-quarters of documentaries screened at this year’s edition are premieres

Romania’s Astra Film Festival revealed the official selection for this year’s edition and said that three-quarters of the 73 documentary films that joined the lineup are premieres. The event takes place in Sibiu, in the famous Transilvania region, between October 9 and October 16.

The organizers have prepared a varied program with films from all over the world, from countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Finland, Chile, the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Vietnam, Israel, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Ukraine, and Russia.

The program includes the Astra Film DokTank industry program, debates, concerts, and special Astra Film Festival events. The screenings in cinemas, the Astra Film Junior, and the Full-Dome programs, so popular among young audiences, are also back this year. In total, AFF2022 audiences will enjoy more than 100 cinematic productions.

The festival comprises four competition sections, namely Emerging Voices of the Documentary, Central and Eastern Europe, Romania, and DocSchool, in which 42 non-fiction films from 37 countries will compete.

Eleven films joined the Romania competition section (which presents a selection of the newest and most valuable Romanian documentary films), and all of them are premieres - 3 world premieres, one international premiere and 7 national premieres.

Meanwhile, eight documentary films by authors at their first production will compete this year in the section named Emerging Voices of the Documentary. More than half of them are premiers.

At the same time, the Central and Eastern Europe section, dedicated to non-fiction films with themes anchored in the space of the so-called Eastern Bloc, brings to the final selection 10 films (one world premiere, one international premiere and four national premieres).

Another 27 films will be presented in programs loved by young and very young audiences, such as the Astra Film Junior and the Full Dome, which are returning after two years of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 29th edition of the Astra Film Festival will be preceded by a teasing event, Warm-Up AFF, scheduled for September 2-3.

Further details are available here.

Launched in 1993, Astra Film Festival Sibiu is one of the most important non-fiction film festivals in Europe, included by the European Film Academy on the list of festivals that have the right to make direct nominations for the European Film Awards. It is organized under the High Patronage of the President of Romania.