Astra Film Festival 2024 awards

The festival continues online with a selection of 39 films

The best documentary films of the Astra Film Festival 2024 edition were selected on Saturday evening , at the State Philharmonic in Sibiu - Thalia Hall, where the dinner and the public celebrated the documentary film through -a dynamic and emotional Awards Gala . Three Romanian productions were particularly appreciated : " Alice On&Of " , by Isabela Tent ( Best film of the Romania Section ), " Maia - portrait with hands " , by Alexandra Gulea (Best Director, Romania Section), and "Dad", by Lina Vdov i i Radu Ciorniciuc ( Director Award, Central and Eastern European Section) . Also, the young director Daniel Țîcu received a Special Mention at the Student Section. The festival continued online until November 10. Program and tickets, here: https://www.astrafilm.ro/astra-film-online

" The approximately 300 film projects of this year's edition were 300 journeys around the world, which helped us to understand various human experiences . Astra Film Festival is a story about people who make films, watch films and how films have changed their lives . When culture is not really a priority, it is exceptional to maintain a festival over 30 years" , said director Dumitru Budrala, founding director of Astra Film Festiva l .

Astra Film Festival 2024 awarded prizes for the competitions Romania , Central and Eastern Europe , Emerging Voices of Documentary Film and DocSchool, to which is added the awarding of innovative projects within the Doc Tank special program.

Central and Eastern Europe Section

Eleven films were selected in this section , judged by Jan Gogola (director, script editor and lecturer at Tomas Bata University in Zlín ) , Christian Popp (producer ) , Pedro Segura ( film critic and distributor from Mexico) .

The award for the best film was awarded to the production " Pădurea " , by Lidia Duda , " with a perfect cinematography, where the scenario becomes more than a setting, it turns into a symbol of protection of vulnerability and vulnerability , a mental space that reflects the boundaries of our identity and challenges us to think about how to protect what is dear to us", reasoned the jury .

The award for the best director was given to the documentary film " Dad " , by Lina Vdov and Radu Ciorniciuc, " a film that offers us a brave , concrete and deeply vulnerable exploration of social violence and intimate " , according to the jury's motivation .

Emerging Voices of Documentary Film Section

Ten films entered the competition of this section, judged by Victor Morozov (film critic), Faridah Gbadamosi (film programmer at Tribeca), Renata Santor (Coordinator of research and programming at the Venice Film Festival).

The award for Best Film went to Nelson Makengo's documentary " Night Rebellion ", a film " made almost exclusively at night, it is an impressive technical feat that never loses focus on the humanity of the characters and their ability to find solutions through collaboration" , reasoned the jury.

In the same category, the Best Director Award went to Farahnaz Sharifi for My Stolen Planet , in which the director " uses his personal journey to map the nation's tumultuous realities, both existing suffering and the joy of a future optimistic, having at its center the essential role of women" , said the members of the jury.

Romania section​​​

This category , judged by Ana Vlad (university lecturer and director), Toma Peiu (director) and Ellen Evans (director), had 13 films in the competition , and the winner of the award for best film is a family portrait that " haunts the viewer long after the end credits " - "Alice On and Off" , by Isabela Text, " the documentary that brings to the fore a teenage artist turned mother , in a liminal, dark universe, full of risks and brutality" , declared the members of the jury .

The award for Best Director was awarded to director Alexandrea Gulea, for the documentary " Maia - Portrait with Hands " . The jury was impressed by the "memorable sequences that prove the director's confidence in her own cinematic vision and the consistency of her approach , bordering on non- fiction " .

In this category , a Special Mention was also awarded , received by Adrian Dohotaru for the documentary film " The Death of Iosif Zagor" , " a debut feature film structured as a revelation from the inside, a penetrating look into the inside of a deep social crisis" , according to the motivation given by the jury.

Student Section​

In the Student Section , where 15 films were selected, director Maria Luiza Pârvu and screenwriter and film critic Nagy V. Gergő decided that the Best film of the competition in this year is " Dreaming of Putin " , by Nastia Korkia and Vlad Fishez, a film that " reflects a dystopian historical moment, where the ghosts of tyrants infiltrate the depths of our social being through digital technology " .

Best Director , in the same section , was given to the documentary " Homage for an Apartment " , by Paula Ďurinov , " a film that uses a poetic visual language to create a love letter that in a place that brings together the memories of her dissident grandparents .

The documentary film " Toată ziua - i noapte " by Daniel Ți received the Jury's Special Mention , in the same category . " The young director looks patiently and perseveringly at his great-grandfather on his deathbed ," the jury said.

DocTank Special Program Awards

There were 8 projects selected this year; The Astra Film Doc Tank Emerging Voices award offered by VOYO was awarded to a documentary that " turns the search for victims of forced labor camps in communist Romania into a meditation on memory and justice " - " The Digs ", by Diana Munteanu ( director) and Ana Maria Vijdea (producer ).

The Astra DocTank Postproduction award , offered by Chainsaw Europe Studio, went to the documentary " How come we ended up here " , by Toma Peiu and Luiza Pârvu, for "the unique way in which it explores the complexity of cultural intersections and captivating visual aesthetics " .

Astra DocTank Consultancy Award , offered by Raina Films (Consultancy and analysis on festival strategy) went to " RATAFÁK – Puppet of fear " , director and producer Marek Vaňous (Slovakia).

The Astra DocTank East Silver Market Award , offered by the Institute of Documentary Film , went to the documentary " Love Porn " , by Ruxandra Gubernat (director) and Tudor Hermeneanu (producer).

About Astra Film Festival

The Astra Film International Documentary Film Festival in Sibiu, launched in 1993 as an innovative project, is one of the most important non-fiction film festivals in Europe, included by the European Film Academy on the list of festivals that have the right to make direct nominations for European Film Awards. AFF is under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and is organized by Astra Film, CNM Astra and the Astra Film Foundation .

Partner Strategic : Ministry of Culture

With the support of the Sibiu County Council, the National Center of Cinematography, the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sibiu and the Union of Cinematographers , the Cultural Institute Rom â n, of the Dacin Sara Association and AFCN. Project co-financed by the Sibiu City Council through Sibiu City Hall .

Main sponsor : ING Bank

Sponsors : Mecatronics, Groupama, URSUS, Martini, Cinelab, Reef Distribution Dome, Luthelo, TheRefresh, Algeco, Decathlon, Produced in Sibiu, Kulinarium, Că rture ști, GLS, Cotnari, Agence K, Pepsi, Cartofiserie, Promenada Sibiu

Sponsors DocTank : ProTV, Voyo, Chainsaw Europe Studio, Raina Film Festival Distribution, Institute of Documentary Film

Recommended by Europa FM

Partner main media : PRO TV, VOYO

Partner cultural : TVR, TVR Cultural, TVR Info, TVR Cluj

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