Dozens of documentaries will premiere in Sibiu starting Sunday at the anniversary edition of the Astra Film Festival, which promises to be an exceptional cultural event as it marks 30 years since its first edition. From races on the biography of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi to the world of shepherds, from the problems of the education system in Germany to the world of pickpockets, from unromanticized biographies of exemplary lives or stories of ordinary people – all this will be seen for the first time in Sibiu between October 15-22. Full program, details and tickets on the festival website: https://www.astrafilm.ro/ro/2023/program-orar.

The festival will start with a powerful film, “Zelensky’s meeting” (work in progress), co-directed by Emmy Award winner Andre Singer and Liev Schreiber. It will be presented at the gala opening of the festival. The film tells the story of Volodymyr Zelensky, starting with his childhood in the USSR and ending with the days of glory and success in the show business industry, and then the presidency of Ukraine. After the screening, Andre Singer, together with unexpected guests, will take part in a panel discussion, which will be moderated by writer, publicist and diplomat Emil Hurezianu. This is not the only documentary film about Ukraine. “20 days in Mariupol”, The premiere of the film was also held, which shows the disturbing story of journalists stuck in a city besieged by the Russian army. The film is signed by the Pulitzer Prize laureate,Mstislav Chernova and received the prize of audience sympathy at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. A depopulated Ukrainian village is the scene of another film, which is being screened in Romania for the first time: “Three women” directed by Maksym Melnyk, it sensitively shows how a researcher, a postal worker and an elderly village woman find the meaning of their existence, despite isolation and loneliness.

“Milky Way”Dumitru Budrala is another film that Astra Film viewers are looking forward to, who will have the opportunity to see for the first time the meaningful story of a family of shepherds who, in the age of speed and technology, stubbornly continue a thousand-year-old tradition. . Dumitru Boudrala explores the mysteries and challenges of transhumanity in a documentary that is exceptional in its transparency, an open door to the world we all, often unknowingly, carry within us.The heroes of the film also work on the roads, but in a completely different field “bitter“, preview. The world of pickpockets and its secrets, people from disadvantaged backgrounds, brought up on the streets and familiar with the prisons of several European countries, is impressively revealed by director Diana Havra. The film, in which we will see how pickpockets think and act, competes in the Romanian competition alongside other premiere films of the production, such as “Our daily bread”from Şerban Georgescu or “sweet kiss of the earth”by Gauthier Gamper.

The winner of this year’s Un Certain Regard Cannes prize for director, Assame el Moudir, is also competing in Sibiu with the same film, “to the beginning was a lie” –Premiere in Romania. The autobiographical documentary tells the story of the popular uprisings of 1981, the so-called Bread Uprisings, caused by the unstable economic situation in Morocco, brutally suppressed by law enforcement agencies and covered up at the official level. Another exciting movie, “Mrs. BuickWell”, With images recorded over 24 years in Romania and the US, Eugene Buike’s production is a bold, unapologetic look at relationships within one’s own family.

“My uncle Luben”, Nikola Boshnakova, is another autobiographical foray full of strong feelings. The main character of the film, the lead singer of a rock band from Dresden, goes to Sofia to sell the apartment he inherited from his deceased Bulgarian uncle, the plastic artist Luben Stoev, but the plans to leave are reversed on the spot. Boshnakov’s film participates in the competition of Central and Eastern Europe, where such productions as “Only here can we love each other”Suzanne Dinewski, “quiet love”Marek Kozakiewicz, “Manifesto“Angie Vincito,“The visit of Godher Fortune“, by Mátyás Kálmán. Filmed in the Cácua Indian community in Colombiadirected by Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento, himself of American descent, “A place where no one tells “i love you””tells about the (mis)understanding of the Other in a poetic, sensual and intimate way, finally touching the notes of a deep existential search.

The premiere of the film will also take place in Sibiu “In the office”, directed by Ilker Chatak, Germany’s Oscar entry, a film in which a young teacher in her first year struggles with a system that is supposed to put children’s interests first, but doesn’t. Many will also premiere at Astra Film Junior, a special program for children and teenagers that runs parallel to the anniversary AFF. One of the most interesting premieres is “Another identity”where a student discovers that her image and identity have been stolen and used in pornographic material available on the Internet.

About Astra Film Festival

Astra Film Festival Sibiu, launched in 1993 as an innovative project, is one of the most important non-fiction film festivals in Europe. Under the high patronage of the President of Romania, the festival is organized by Astra Film, CNM Astra and Astra Film Foundation, the Ministry of Culture as a strategic partner, with the support of the Sibiu County Council, the National Center of Cinematography, the Romanian Cultural Institute, the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sibiu and the Union of Cinematographers. The event is co-financed by the Sibiu City Council through the Sibiu City Hall.

Strategic partner: Ministry of Culture

Sponsors: HBO Go, Cinelab, Materom Autohaus, Luthelo, CineGOLD, Promenada Mall, DPD Romania, Kulinarium, Sonne

Monitoring partner: MediaTrust

Media partners: PRO TV, Europa FM, TV5 Monde, News.ro, G4media, Hotnews, Spotmedia, PressHub, Turnul Sfatului, Sibiu 100%, Tribuna, Messagerul de Sibiu, Ora de Sibiu, independent Sibiu, Sibiul azi, Stiri de Sibiu , Hermannstädter Zeitung, Nine O`Clock, Scena9, Cinemagia, Cineuropa, Film New Europe, Observator cultural, Timpul, AaRC, MovieNews, Cinefan, Cinefilia, Liternet, Capital Cultural, Revista Transilvania, Filmtett, Modern Times Review

Communication partner: PiArt Vision

The article is supported by Astra Film Festival