astrafilm
Who we are
ASTRA FILM FESTIVAL (AFF) is a major event in the European film community and the most important documentary film festival in Romania. The festival takes place in Sibiu, in the heart of Transylvania and is unique in this part of Europe. The festival promotes the kind of engaging cinema that presents a detailed and intimate account of the human condition in the form of powerful cinematic stories. Established in 1993, the Astra Film Festival prides itself on having created a significant framework for the development of documentary filmmaking in Central and Eastern Europe, and at the same time has strengthened a platform for new filmmakers in Romania and the region as a whole, providing them with networking opportunities and visibility for their work nationally and internationally.
The Festival is under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and is organized by the ASTRA Museum through the ASTRA Film Department and the Astra Film Foundation, with the support of the Sibiu County Council, the Ministry of Culture, the National Cinematography Centre, the Romanian Cultural Institute, the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sibiu and the Union of Filmmakers, being co-financed by the Sibiu City Council through the Sibiu City Hall and the European Union through the Creative Europe Programme.
Find out more about the history of the festival in the Gopo Award-winning documentary. Click on the button below to access the documentary.
EVENTS GALLERY
Award-winning films
We invite you to find out the story behind all the objectives in the list below.
The petty shop
(Poland, 2022), directed by Łukasz Kowalski
Best Film of the Central and Eastern Europe Section
"For the interesting, humorous portrayal of the efforts of the owner and employees of an unlikely pawnshop business in search of a "hit" in a precarious community where the only things of value are stories of desperation. Through intelligent direction, attention and understanding for the characters, "Pawnshop" transforms the story into a globally relevant story about life and aspiration, between failure, survival and the promise of capitalist success."
The Goblet. About sons and daughters
(Romania, 2022), directed by Cătălina Tesăr and Dana Bunescu
Best Film of the Romania Section
"for stylistic virtuosity, breadth of research and depth of anthropological effort. For building a bridge of understanding between cultures, opening up a world that often remains hidden behind commonplaces. For the ability to create a dramatic and moving story about the family and the condition of women. For exploring the values of a culture caught between modernity and tradition."
A little place on earth
(France, 2021), directed by Emilie Beyssac Cywinska
Best Film of the DocSchool Section
"a tender and warm family portrait, painted with such ease, naturalness and affection, revealing in subtle ways how the forces of big history play out on the smaller scale of everyday life."
Togetherness
(Romania, 2022), directed by Botond Püsök
Best film in the Emerging Voices of Documentary category
"for a film that portrays a heroine struggling to hold her family together in a life nearly crushed by a stigma she cruelly cannot avoid internalizing; for a film that uses the simplest of cinematic devices to bring a harrowing tale of survival to the screen."
Documentary film
A space to reflect on the world through the power of cinema. Find out more about this year's edition.
