Famous documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield comes to the Astra Film Festival with his film about Leonard Cohen

Nick Broomfield, one of the most influential documentary film directors in the world, is coming to Sibiu for the 29th edition of the Astra Film festival, which takes place October 9-16.

Winner of numerous international awards such as BAFTA or Sundance, Broomfield will meet the Astra Film Festival audience in the Portrait Program A Life in Documentary - Masters.

Tuesday, October 11, features the screening of Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014), a film that follows the case of the notorious serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, who terrorized South-Central Los Angeles for 25 years.

Wednesday, October 12, is the screening day of the documentary Marianne and Leonard – Words of Love (2019), which provides an in-depth look at the relationship between the exceptional musician Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse, Marianne Ihlen, who inspired the song So Long, Marianne.

Finally, on Thursday, October 13, there will be a screening of My Father and Me (2019), a very personal documentary that explores the director's relationship with his father, a talented photographer.

Nick Broomfield will also be teaching a Masterclass, moderated by director Liviu Tipuriță, which will take place on Thursday, October 13, at the Thalia Hall of the Sibiu Philharmonic, immediately after the screening of My Father and Me. After the Masterclass, the audience will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with director Nick Broomfield during a Q&A session.

In a career spanning five decades, Nick Broomfield has directed 35 documentaries, investigating the stories of high-profile celebrities such as Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston, Leonard Cohen, Biggie and Tupac, politicians such as Margaret Thatcher and Sarah Palin, the famous pimp Heidi Fleiss, known as Madame Hollywood, and serial killers such as Aileen Wuornos and the Grim Sleeper. Broomfield has also made documentaries about underprivileged children, female soldiers, and prostitution.

Nick Broomfield began his career in observational documentary, and then developed his own style: appearing in his own documentaries. The interaction with the subjects of the films became a key element of the productions. Although he acknowledges that the intrusion of the filmmaker into the situation he is filming inevitably impacts and alters the story, Broomfield believes that this is a more honest approach than one in which the filmmaker pretends not to be present. It's good for viewers to be aware of the filmmaker-subject interaction, to be able to decide for themselves where the truth lies, is the opinion of the British director.