Romanian productions at Astra Film Festival 2026: personal stories that open up the major themes of the present

A former political prisoner, a young woman adopted abroad who returns to Romania in search of her biological family, people brought together by faith and tradition, a community fighting to save a forest, and farmers who, ten years on, are still facing many of the same problems. These are just some of the stories told by Romanian films selected for Astra Film Festival 2026, taking place in Sibiu from 17 to 25 October.

The films begin with personal experiences, family histories and stories of communities, and naturally open onto themes that concern us all: memory, identity, family, trauma, faith, belonging and civic engagement. Some look back to the past, while others turn their gaze directly to Romania today.

Big history seen through family stories

In “I Haven’t Felt Spring in a Long Time” (dir. Alexandra Bidian), the director reconstructs her father’s story through documents, images and memories. A former political prisoner, he emigrated to Germany, and his personal experience becomes a way into Romania’s recent history. In “So Familiar” (dir. Rachel Tâpârjan), the Romanian-British director returns to Romania, the country where she was born and from which she was adopted, to search for her biological family. The search brings her face to face with a part of her own history that she never knew and changes the way she sees her identity.

The film “Last Letters from My Grandmother” (dir. Olga Lucovnicova) also starts with a family story. The daughter of a Romanian mother and a Russian father looks into her family’s past for answers about people whose lives were shaped by major historical events in the region and by traumas that remained present from one generation to the next.

Communities, faith and belonging

Several films in the selection explore the ways people come together around tradition, faith or a common cause. “Every Day the Same Train Passes and Never Stops” (dir. Vlad Petri) observes death-related rituals in a village in Bistrița-Năsăud and the way they keep a community’s memory alive. In “The Queue” (dir. Andreea Dumitriu), the pilgrimage to Saint Parascheva becomes, for a few days, a temporary community. Strangers wait together, talk and help one another, while the film stays close to these encounters and to what happens among the people standing in line.

“There Was a Forest Here” (dir. Valentin Anghel) presents another form of community, following residents of Bucharest’s Sector 3 as they fight to save part of IOR Park. Beyond the immediate issue of green space, the film follows people who choose to get involved and defend their right to have a say in the place where they live.

Ten years later, the same problems

In “Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons: 10 Years Later” (dir. Șerban Georgescu), the filmmaker returns to Lungulețu and to the farmers he filmed a decade ago. Ten years have passed, but many of the problems they faced then are still there. “Lenin’s Pawn” (dir. Dragoș Turea) takes us to the Republic of Moldova, where an actor fights, literally and figuratively, against Lenin statues. The story reveals a society in which the Soviet past has not disappeared and continues to provoke reactions and conflict.

Young Romanian directors at DocSchool

The DocSchool competition also features films by Romanian directors. In “Blessed” (dir. Voicu Mureșanu), Mihaela Mincă is preparing to open what she describes as the world’s first school for witches. “Boxing in Berceni” (dir. Alexandru Buliga) follows a former boxer and war veteran who trains three young fighters. And “The World Sings Underground Too” (dir. Radu Ștefan Lungu) enters the world of a family of lăutari musicians in the village of Pârâu de Pripor, where music and the profession are passed from father to son.

Astra Pass 10 – Early Bird until 1 October

For this year’s edition, Astra Film Festival is launching Astra Pass 10, a flexible pass offering ten admissions to festival films and events. The pass is non-nominal and can be used individually or shared with family and friends.

Until 1 October, Astra Pass 10 is available at the Early Bird price of 130 lei, compared with the standard price of 200 lei. A seat reservation is required for every screening or event. The pass alone does not guarantee entry to the venue unless a reservation has been made. Details: https://astrafilm.ro/festival/tickets

Festival Passport

Another new feature this year is the Festival Passport, which allows audiences to save the films they want to see and build their own festival schedule. The platform flags overlapping events and alerts users when there are fewer than the recommended 20 minutes between screenings for getting from one venue to another. The schedule can be added to a phone calendar, and audiences can set reminders before events.

Electronic tickets, reservations and passes are also available as PDF files and can be added to Apple Wallet. Details: https://astrafilm.ro/account/

About Astra Film Festival

Founded in 1993, Astra Film Festival is Romania’s longest-running documentary film festival and one of Europe’s major events dedicated to non-fiction cinema. The festival is included by the European Film Academy among the festivals entitled to make direct nominations for the European Film Awards.

Astra Film Festival is a strategic cultural project of the Ministry of Culture, organised by Astra Film, CNM Astra and the Astra Film Foundation. The festival is held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania, co-funded by the Sibiu City Hall and supported by the Sibiu County Council.

Institutional partners: CNC, ICR, UNATC, UCIN, Sibiu State Philharmonic, DRRM, Dacin Sara

Main sponsor: ING

Sponsors: Unimat, Simpa, Zizin, Cotnari, Ursus

Media partners: Europa FM, HotNews, G4Media, Spotmedia, Radio România Cultural, Edupedu, PressHub, LiterNet, MovieNews, Cinefan, Tribuna, Turnul Sfatului, Sibiu 100, Ora de Sibiu, Mesagerul de Sibiu, Sibiu Independent, Sibiul Azi, Știri de Sibiu, Hermannstädter Zeitung, Nine O’Clock.