The Astra Film Festival returns with a special program titled «Our Online Lives» as part of its anniversary celebrations, running from 15-22 October. This year’s edition sheds light on the evolving challenges of digital existence, exploring the vast chasm between online personas and true selves, as well as the ethical dilemmas surrounding the blurry lines between reality and virtual worlds.
Three documentaries are set to premiere nationally under this banner:
- Manifesto by Russian filmmaker Angie Vinchito, delves deep into the daily lives of children and adolescents, contrasting innocent schoolyard antics with moments of genuine terror. The documentary, primarily using mobile phone footage, poignantly highlights societal imbalances and aggression.
- The French docufiction Knit’s Island, conceived by Ane Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse, and Quentin L’helgoualc’h, merges cinéma vérité with the video gaming realm. It invites audiences to traverse the boundaries between the tangible world and its virtual counterpart.
- Another Body, a collaborative effort between Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn from the UK and USA, charts a student’s harrowing journey after discovering her stolen identity in explicit online content. Besides exposing the threats and lack of privacy in the digital domain, the film serves as a cautionary tale for teens, tackling subjects like deepfakes and the dangers of online overexposure.
Further enriching the festival experience, a debate on 18 October will see the participation of Mihnea Măruță from Babeș-Bolyai University and Minodora Sălcudean of Lucian Blaga University. Măruță, an experienced journalist and philosopher, recently penned Virtual Identity: How and Why Social Networks Transform Us. Cristina Ösz, an integrative psychotherapist, will also be present to engage with attendees post-screening.
Film enthusiasts can catch these eye-opening documentaries at various venues throughout the week. Detailed schedules and ticketing information are available on the Astra Film Festival website.
