HomeUncategorizedAstra Film Festival 2018 Opens with 400 Film Events Over 7 Days

Astra Film Festival 2018 Opens with 400 Film Events Over 7 Days

The 25th edition of the Sibiu Astra Film Festival opens on Monday, 15 October. The festival will host more than 400 film events over 7 days, held in 9 venues located in the old town. 128 selected movies will be screened to nonfiction movie lovers, industry professionals, special guests, and the general public. The five competitive sections of AFF 2018 include 55 productions from 30 countries, while 28 titles will be screened in VR and full-dome formats. The festival will show 17 Romanian documentaries, with over 60 screenings followed by Q&As sessions with the Romanian and foreign filmmakers attending. More than 50 of the selected films will have their premiere at the festival.

Astra Film Festival starts rolling with the official opening of its 2018 edition, a record-setting anniversary: over 3,000 submissions from 93 countries. The winners of AFF 2018 will be decided by a jury of 13 leading names representing a cross-section of the documentary world – directors, producers, movie critics, festival directors, college professors, and writers. The winners of the competitive sections will be announced on Saturday, 20 October. The total prizes exceed 25,000 euros.

The opening gala of Astra Film Festival will end with the official premiere of Transalpina – Drumul Regilor (Transalpina – The Road of Kings), directed by Dumitru Budrala, an intimate and fascinating exploration of the hidden history of Europe’s most spectacular road, Transalpina. Breathtakingly beautiful, Transalpina is more than a picturesque road. The route that connects Transylvania and Wallachia dates back to thousands of years. In an exceptional feat of moviemaking, the film follows the road of kings, both beneath the ground, where the god Zamolxis walked, and in the sky, where in the time of giants the mountains and valleys took their names.

„I have tried to capture a unique experience in Transalpina – The Road of Kings, a dive into the history and mythology of the place, from the most distant past to the present time. I have tried to mix together mythology, history, geography, and the stories of those who witnessed the road’s inauguration by king Charles II, so I could tell the most vivid story, that of road took its name, as well as its story as a remarkable achievement for that time. It always seemed to me this road was a meeting point between the people living on the opposite sides of the mountains as well as between sky and earth, the real and the fantastic”, said director Dumitru Budrala, founder and director of Astra Film Festival.

“This film is the confession of Dumitru Budrala. It is as fabulous as it is necessary, like hearth is to bread-making, and birthplace to those born there”, said Emil Hurezeanu, Romania’s ambassador to Berlin.

The opening ceremony of AFF 2018 will take place on Monday, 15 October, at the Thalia Hall, from 19.00 P.M., and will be followed by the screening of Transalpina – Drumul Regilor, from 19.30, and a live concert of Grammy nominees The Tiger Lillies, at 21.00.

 

The full program of Astra Film Festival 2018 can be consulted and downloaded here.

The tickets to Astra Film Festival 2018 are available online, at www.eventbook.ro, and in any Humanitas bookshops in the country. A full guide for purchasing tickets and passes, ticket booth program and access in screening theaters and events ia available here.

 

The Astra Film International Festival in Sibiu debuted in 1993 as a breakthrough project for Eastern and Central Europe and for the past 25 years has significantly contributed to the establishment of a development framework supporting documentary filmmaking throughout the region and especially in Romania. Astra Film Festival has constantly highlighted the art of nonfiction cinema, supporting its development and opening new horizons for filmmakers. Astra Film Festival 2018 is organized by Astra Film, CNM Astra and the Astra Film Foundation, with the support of the Sibiu County Council, the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, and of the Romanian Film Centre. The event is co-financed by the Sibiu City Council through the Sibiu City Hall, and by the European Union through the Creative Europe Program.

Astra Film Festival is under the High Patronage the President of Romania

 

Press contact: Adriana Lomnasan, 0728 174 406, adriana@astrafilm.ro

 

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