Romanian documentary film at Astra Film Sibiu 2016

     Astra Film Festival, to unfold in 2016 between 17 - 23 October, is the main exposure platform and a catalyser for the latest documentary film productions in Romania.

     The programme DocumentaryTank@AFF (20 - 22 October), a platform dedicated to members of the cinema industry, will bring together in Sibiu local and European filmmakers for 3 days of networking, masterclass sessions and presentations on the newest trends in the documentary film production and distribution. Part of this programme is also Romanian Docs in Progress (22 October), a presentation competition to reunite 6 Romanian directors to present their documentary film projects in the works, before a jury and of local and international audience of industry professionals. The winning teams will receive prizes consisting in post-production services and other means of support for wrapping up their documentaries.
     The selection of Romanian documentaries within the AFF 2016 programme puts Romania under a magnifying glass, analyses its past, its people and their incredible stories.
     Presented in national premiere, The New Gypsy Kings, a novel documentary produced by Liviu Tipuriță for the BBC, talks about the complex phenomenon created around the Romanian „manele” players. The film captures the road to celebrity of the most famous players, each of them having a spectacular route „from horse-drawn wagons to Ferrari, and from tents to palaces”, and the viewers are given the opportunity to understand aspects of the prosperous manele industry producing six-figure revenues, millions of views online and glorifying the names of the manele kings.
     The section Trecut recondiționat/Refurbished Past presents two Romanian documentaries: Cinema, mon amour (directed by Alexandru Belc) and Blocul/The Block (directed by Maria Șalaru). The Block juggles between the communist past of a block-of-flats neighbourhood and the day to day reality of its inhabitants under the rigorous management of an administrator willing to do everything for the welfare of everybody. The complete list of Romanian documentaries included in the Astra Film Sibiu 2016 selection may be viewed here.