Astra Film Junior 2025. Education through documentary film for a generation that thinks freely. The tickets were put up for sale

Astra Film Junior, the largest education program through documentary film in Romania, returns to Sibiu on October 20-24, with an edition that transforms the cinema into an instrument of knowledge, empathy and critical thinking for students and teachers. Curated by age groups (6+, 11+, 15+), the program brings documentation, animations and short fictions about topics that directly concern the young generation: identity, migration, war, ecology, digital culture, discourse, sport and emotional health. The projections are accompanied by guided discussions and training for teachers, so that the dialogue continues in the classroom. At the 16th edition, Astra Film Junior also brings news: a visual storytelling workshop that aims to guide the students to achieve relevant and educational contents for social media channels (from Volunteer to Influencer). The tickets have already been put up for sale https://starafilm.ro/bilete-afjunior/.

Astra Film Junior matters now more than ever. In a world where fake news circulates at speed, and the social networks algorithms create information bubbles, the documentary film remains one of the cleanest and most honest forms of knowledge. He not only shows the reality, but explains it, contextualizes it, transforming the viewing into an experience of reflection and dialogue. Students are encouraged to form their own opinions, to recognize manipulation, to discuss ethically and argued about sensitive topics. For teachers, the program offers methodologies to integrate the film in dedicated lessons and training, so that the dialogue continues in the classroom, not just in the room.

“A ticket to Astra Film Junior does not just mean access to the cinema. It is a window to the world, a critical thinking exercise, an empathy training and an opportunity to understand the complexity of reality. In a time dominated by quick scroll and automatic likes, Astra Film Junior gives children and adolescents the chance to stop for a moment the flow of images and to look at the world in depth“, Declared Dumitru Budrala, director-founder Astra Film Festival.

News and Highlights AF Junior 2025

Storytelling workshop “From Volunteer to Influencer” (October 1-4) is a special program designed for students in Sibiu, who aims to show them how to achieve relevant, quality and ethical content, Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook.

Comic contest. Addressed to students in the primary classes, the contest causes children to build their own visual stories, inspired by the films seen at the festival. At the end of the festival, the best works will be designed on the Sibiu Square screen.

AF Junior 2025 program

The AF Junior 2025 program proposes to the students a selection of documentation, animations and short fictions adapted to each age group.

Primary cycle (6+). Children will discover stories about family, adaptation and courage (My family is a circus, Flight underwater, Awena and Abduli, Yangka on the land of happiness), but also lessons about nature and balance of ecosystems (The architects of nature. Carpathia preservation).

Gymnasium (11+). Students in this category will have access to movies that address current topics such as cyberbullying, resilience and climate change (Tamica, the heroine of the digital world, Emma conquers trampoline, Thibault, Hockey on ice in the Himalaya).

High schools (15+) will have topics that directly reflect their reality: online fame and algorithm pressure (Girls' gang), adolescence lived in the middle of the war (Adolescence under siege), or infiltration into extremist networks (Hacking hate / decoding hatred).

All details of the details about the program, tickets and subscribers can be found on the website of the festival https://starafilm.ro/home-afjunior/

Astra Film Festival, a strategic cultural project of the Ministry of Culture, is organized by Astra Film, CNM Astra and the Astra Film Foundation, is under the high patronage of the President of Romania, is co-financed by Sibiu City Hall and supported by the Sibiu County Council.

Article supported by Astra Film Festival