The full Programme of Astra Film Festival 2026 is online.

What film makes you change or nuance your opinion? What story stays with you long after you leave the cinema? In October, Sibiu once again becomes, thanks to Astra Film Festival (17-25 October), the capital of documentary cinema: that unique place where the world, when seen up close, looks different. The festival programme, featuring 200 film screenings, DocTalk discussions and meetings with filmmakers, is now online, and spectators can already choose the films and events they want to attend: https://astrafilm.ro/festival/program.

This year’s edition opens on Saturday, 17 October, at 6:00 pm, with an Opening Gala followed by Andreas Pichler’s “Elon Musk Revealed” (Germany, 2025) and a timely discussion about artificial intelligence. In fact, every festival day will be a challenge for spectators, as the programme allows them to build their own itinerary across the festival’s nine days, moving between screenings, DocTalks and Q&A sessions. The AFF programme is worth studying in advance and turning into a personal itinerary that also leaves enough time for conversations with friends after the screenings.

“A film can bring you close to a person whose life is completely different from yours. You listen to them, begin to understand them, and perhaps start questioning one of your own convictions. We create Astra Film for encounters like these. I hope spectators will also choose a film about a world they do not know. Sometimes, that is precisely where the best conversation begins,” says Dumitru Budrala, founder and director of Astra Film Festival.

Ten entries, to use on your own or together with friends

With such a rich programme, the organisers offer a flexible system of tickets, passes and discounts. The Astra Pass 10 provides ten entries to films and DocTalks and is non-nominal, so it can also be used together with others: for your own festival itinerary, a night out for two, or an evening with friends. Those who purchase the pass can make their plans in advance, but can also change them along the way.

Tickets for screenings and DocTalks cost 25 lei, while reduced-price tickets for pupils, students and pensioners cost 15 lei. A ticket for Astra Film Junior costs 15 lei. Students can also choose the Student Pass, available at the festival box office for 100 lei. The Astra Pass 10 costs 200 lei at full price and 130 lei at the Early Bird rate (until 4 October).

Details: https://astrafilm.ro/festival/tickets.

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

Industry partner: VOYO

Sponsors: Unimat, Simpa, Zizin, Cotnari, Ursus

Main media partner: DIGI 24

Recommended by: Europa FM

Media partners: Radio România Cultural, HotNews, G4Media, Spotmedia, Edupedu, Scena9, Vorbitorincii, PressHub, LiterNet, MovieNews, Cinefan, Cinefilia, IQads, Smark, Totul despre mame, Tribuna, Turnul sfatului, Sibiu 100, Ora de Sibiu, Mesagerul de Sibiu, Sibiu independent, Sibiul azi, Știri de Sibiu, Sibiul în imagini, Hermannstädter Zeitung, Nine O’Clock, Cineuropa, Film New Europe

Monitoring partner: mediaTRUST