From 17 to 25 October, Sibiu once again becomes a place where the world looks different when seen up close. Astra Film Festival 2026 brings together documentaries, conversations with filmmakers and guests, debates and events for audiences of all ages, as well as a special programme for film students.
This year’s edition features more than 200 film-related events over nine days. The organisers’ recommendation: browse the programme, choose a film that opens a window onto a world you do not yet know, and leave room between screenings for the conversations it may spark. The full programme is online, allowing audiences to plan their own festival itinerary. Full AFF2026 programme.
Opening gala: artificial intelligence and Elon Musk
The opening gala will take place on Saturday, 17 October, at 6 pm at Thalia Hall and will be hosted by journalist Oana Zamfir. The programme begins with the DocTalk “Artificial Intelligence— Imminent Danger or Apocalyptic Marketing Scheme?”, moderated by journalist Florin Negruțiu, with Ștefan Baghiu and Bogdan Lungu taking part. At 7:30 pm, audiences can watch Elon Musk Unveiled–The Tesla Experiment (dir. Andreas Pichler, Germany, 2025, 90 min), a documentary that opens up questions about power, technology and the influence of one of the world’s most visible entrepreneurs. Details and tickets.
DocTalks: watch the film, keep the conversation going
At Astra Film, the cinematic experience does not end with the closing credits. DocTalks bring together directors, journalists, special guests and audiences for conversations that take the films’ themes further. Topics this year include transgenerational trauma, school dropout in the context of state failure, and our relationship with artificial intelligence. These encounters are for audiences who want not only to see a story, but also to turn it over, examine it from different angles and discuss it with others. Explore the DocTalks programme.
Competitions: films to discover, perspectives to compare
Four competition sections bring films by both established filmmakers and emerging authors to the audience: the Romania Competition, the Central and Eastern European Competition, Emerging Voices of Documentary Film, and DocSchool. Many titles are screening in Sibiu for the first time. The selection offers an opportunity to discover different stories and cinematic approaches, from realities close to home to experiences that can change the way we see the world. Competition films and tickets.
Themes that speak to the present
For audiences drawn to particular subjects, the festival’s thematic sections offer different ways of exploring today’s world: from institutions that turn against the citizens they are meant to serve and places that shape our identity, to trauma passed down through generations, relationships between fathers and sons, artificial intelligence, the experience of war, and people trying to bring about change through civic engagement. Rather than offering a single interpretive thread, the programme invites viewers to follow the issues that matter to them—or deliberately step outside familiar territory. Explore the AFF2026 thematic sections.
DocStudentHub: an international documentary film lab
The third edition of DocStudentHub brings dozens of film students from Romania and six other countries to Sibiu for a programme of analysis, dialogue and learning centred on documentary cinema. Screenings in the DocSchool competition are complemented by discussions and workshops led by professionals including director Liviu Țipuriță and documentary film mentor Tue Steen Müller. The programme creates a meeting point for students’ perspectives, filmmakers’ experience and audience responses. More about DocStudentHub.
Astra Film Junior: documentaries for new generations
Now in its 18th edition, Astra Film Junior offers children and teenagers films selected for three age groups (6+, 11+ and 15+), inviting them to discover just how captivating the real world can be. The programme also includes the comic-strip competition “Six Panels, One Story!”, in which pupils turn their film experience into a story of their own. Teachers can find the programme, access conditions and group booking information on the website: Astra Film Junior.
Astra Pass 10: ten entries to explore the festival
For those who want to see more films and join the conversations, Astra Pass 10 offers ten admissions to screenings and DocTalks. The pass is not issued in a specific name and can be shared with friends or family—and each event must be booked in advance. The standard price is RON 200. Individual tickets for films and DocTalks cost RON 25, with reduced tickets at RON 15 for pupils, students and pensioners. Tickets and passes.
Founded in 1993, Astra Film Festival is Romania’s longest-running documentary film festival and one of Europe’s leading events dedicated to non-fiction cinema. The festival is included on the European Film Academy’s list of 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 takes place under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and is co-funded by Sibiu City Hall and Sibiu County Council.
Institutional partners: CNC, UNATC, UCIN, Sibiu State Philharmonic, DRRM, DACIN SARA
Main sponsor: ING
Industry partner: VOYO
Mobility partner: Peugeot
Sponsors: Unimat, Simpa, Zizin, Cotnari, Ursus
Main media partner: Digi24
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
Media monitoring partner: mediaTRUST
