-
Catalogue
The 2017 edition of the Astra Film Festival in Sibiu, Romania offered an immersive experience into real and virtual reality. You are welcome to browse the Festival Catalogue.
Read more ...
-
Familyscapes
The concept of ‘nuclear’ family does not dominate in our societies as it once did. The realm of the family space is one that is messy, complicated, and with many moving parts, an image that spans beyond the scope of what used to be perceived as the ‘traditional family’ composed of a mother, father and their children. The films selected in Familyscapes present seven examples of unconventional or down-right unfit households, affirming yet again the truth of Leo Tolstoy’s opening line in Anna Karennina: ‘Happy families are alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way’.Another Year is the portrait of a Chinese family, struggling to get by in an overpopulated country, where it is not uncommon for a family of six to share a one bedroom apartment. In such confined quarters, quarrels and conflicts between family members are expected to happen. The film captures family dynamics between different generations over a year, highlighting the veracity of representation not only specific of Chinese society, but the universality of family life.Another example of a complicated family landscape is Communion, in which the one responsible for keeping the family together is neither the father, a sort of kindhearted but entirely useless adult who spends most of his days drunk, nor the mother who is absent and mostly indifferent, but the teenage daughter. Also portraying a broken up family, the director of He She I investigates in a linear narrative the progression of the failed relationship between her parents, given that they split before her birth, in an attempt to grasp the history of a family that never was. Dealing with a similar family that had collapsed, You Are Still Somebody’s Someone is a sensitive and personal exposition of a damaged paternal bond, driven apart by the father’s forsaking his family.Facing different obstacles to family fulfillment Extended Family considers two examples of non-nuclear families, extending the definition of the term to cases of same-sex parents and family members that form a broader group. An idea of an extended family is taken even further in Phoenixxx, where the two protagonists share an almost sisterly bond, despite not being related in any way.Finally, Close ties is a wistful look at a relationship of forty years, a rarity amid broken up and dysfunctional families. Yet, even seemingly perfect families are subject to problems and conflicts and the protagonists of Close ties are not an exception.
Read more ...
-
A Quest(ion) of Identity
Race, ethnicity and nationality. Social status, economic class, gender, sexual orientation, age. Social identity vs. self identity. There are many things to look at when talking about identity issues. If identity be a form of social representation that mediates relationship between the individual and the social world, the process can be creative or destructive. The films in this section explore some of the ways in which identity and its pursuit influence the lives of people.
Read more ...
-
In Someone Else's Country
The program "In Someone Else's Country" looks for a change of perspective and for cinematic expressions to what is, in the end, almost impossible to express: the experience of exile. "In Someone Else's Country" questions the problematic grey area of morality and justice in relation to the Other, observing the daily negotiations between the military and society and between the law and the human being.
Read more ...
-
Against the Odds
The program Against the Odds comprises several very attentively executed portraits of people who seek ways to defy their circumstances and prove themselves surprisingly resourceful when driven into a corner. There is no limit to the range of hardships life can throw in our path. They may take the form of illness, physical challenge, financial crisis, personal or professional failure, social exclusion and many more. Whether they find themselves in life-and-death situations, in search of a balance between the sane and the insane or simply in pursuit of a personal ambition, the protagonists of the films in this section are adamant in following their goal.
Read more ...
-
Sidescaping Europe
Europe is a fluid concept and the latest developments make it even more difficult to define its geography. Europe is intercultural and multicultural. And considerably diverse. The films in this section look at the fringes of Europe and bring to the screen places and stories few of those who count as Europeans knew about.
Read more ...
-
The Look of Delusion
We live in a world that has killed its gods. Killed them just in time and yet prematurely, abruptly, leaving the believers unprepared to face the massive changes they were made to go through. How can one fill up the void left behind by the death of a god? This exact process lies at the core of “The Beast is Still Alive”, a documentary about a Bulgarian émigré’s attempt to understand the failures of a largely absent dissident grandfather, told through a mix of animation and imagined voice over dialogue with the deceased. Unafraid to dive into the depths of difficult questions of both personal and shared responsibility, the film clashes personal and collective memory to explore the (often absurd) vicious circles many ex-communist countries find themselves in.
Read more ...
-
Growing Up
The films in the program Growing up capture almost chronologically the defining moments encountered by children and teenagers on their confusing journey to adulthood. There is a wide spectrum of both the joys and anguishes of growing up, while the stylistic choices of the filmmakers invite the viewer to perceive the world through their protagonists’ eyes.
Read more ...
-
Rites Revisited
Despite numerous changes over the last decades, tradition and rites remain integral to the lives of many communities around the world. From the convergence between tradition and modernity arises a section that highlights their correlation, rather than the complete disconnect that the two concepts might suggest.
Read more ...
-
Shortscapes
Celebrating the short form of documentaries, this selection presents an assortment of stories and places, capturing in eight short films the complexities of human relations and the beauty of city and rural landscapes.
Read more ...
-
Post-truth
The Post Truth Landscape - Fake news and MockumentaryFake News – Panel discussion on various policies and best practices to avoid the orchestrated attacks of fake newsMockumentary under arrest – masterclassMockumentaries, or fake documentaries, have gained notoriety after several scandals of commercial documentary channels that relied on commercial agendas produced and aired documentary series which were based on fake information and used the testimonies of fake experts, fooling millions of viewers.
Read more ...
-
Voices of Documentary
Latest works of Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Amos Gitai, Wang Bing
Read more ...
-
Les films de Cannes@Astra Film Sibiu
Astra Film Festival Sibiu and Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest have the great pleasure to announce the presentation within the Sibiu Festival, as part of their new collaboration, of a selection of documentaries which have received accolades at the latest Cannes Film Festival.
Read more ...
-
Docs from Norway
Astra Film 2017 brings three documentaries made in Norway covering each in its own distinctive way current issues which have been and still are topics of public debate.69 Minutes of 86 Days is a poetic documentary that looks at the refugee crisis through the eyes of a three-year old girl who flees accross Europe together with her family.The Man Who Knew 75 Languages is the emotional story of a linguistic genius, his love for languages and for Elisabeth, Queen of Romania, and above all about his endeavour to convince the world that people's mother tongue is an essential part of their identity.Over-consumption is tacked in the documentary Expired, an experiment made by four friends who cover Norway from North to South on bike and the only food they eat during this exhausting physical trial is made of produce they find in the supermarkets' waste containers, labelled as ''expired''.
Read more ...
-
Museion Ltd.
Among other responsibilities, the Muses of Ancient Greece acted as sources of the knowledge embodied in the arts and science. And since in those times preservation of knowledge was a business of oral transmission, they were also patronesses of cultural memory. This programme looks at cultural memory and the memory of culture from the points of view of four films: the artist for whom building a museum for his body of work is part of the creative process, the thriller about art trafficking and treasure hunting, the fascination of archaeological discoveries, and the art of reproducing art.
Read more ...
-
Under Pressure
From our very early years, we fall under the rules of institutions. Family, economy, government, are manifest in our existence and more often than not put pressure on our lives. While a greater or lesser degree of pressure is an unavoidable constant, the reaction of individuals is infinitely variable. The films in this section tell stories about clashes between individuals and institutions, some of them versions of the story of David and Goliath.
Read more ...
-
The Future Is Now
This year, AFF returns with the second edition of the section called THE FUTURE IS NOW, dedicated to the new documentary formats. The festival’s audience will have the opportunity to view a broad selection of documentary projects of virtual reality, as well as screenings that are specially presented in the dome theatre, within the most diverse and bountiful programme of virtual cinema, a unique experience in Romania. In the field of virtual reality and 360-degree videos, aside from developing more efficient and reachable systems, novelty also resides in the diversity and usefulness of these innovative technologies being applied to the real world. These new developments can be experienced at AFF.
Read more ...
-
Documentary Tank
The industry program at Astra Film Festival 2017, will take place between 19-21 October, with a program that includes talks, events, presentations and networking opportunities, gathered under the umbrella of DocumentaryTank@AFF, which aims to provide a range of activities focused on film professionals. The vision of this program is to encourage the development and growth of European and Romanian documentary industry and of its current and future filmmakers. To that end, we have organized a series of expert-led discussions focused on the funding, development and distribution of films, new media and the education of future directors, producers, cinematographers or distributors.
Read more ...
-
Concerts
A heterogeneous mix of music genres will entertain documentary film buffs at the 2017 AFF. SonoRo, Luiza Zan and Subcarpati will fix up the soundtrack of the 7 autumnal days filled to the brim with films.
Read more ...