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LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE INSPIRATIONAL LABS

A forest in Bucharest, a lover created by artificial intelligence, a shepherdess defending her mountain, and 80 journalists who refuse to remain silent: even though they may not seem to belong to the same story, they are all part of the Astra Film Festival 2026 story. The festival’s 12 thematic sections (17-25 October, Sibiu) bring together films that look at the world from very different angles, from family, memory and the places we live in to war, technology and power. Twelve perspectives that help us see the world up close, a little differently. Screenings are followed by discussions and Q&A sessions. Details about the AFF2026 thematic sections: https://astrafilm.ro/festival/program/thematic.

Astra Film Festival, the international documentary film festival taking place in Sibiu from 17 to 25 October, offers more than 200 film-related events, making the Sibiu festival one of the most attractive cultural events of the autumn in Romania. Competing for the awards in the festival’s four competition sections (Romania, Eastern Europe, Emerging Voices and DocSchool), most of them screening in Sibiu for the first time, will be films by some of the world’s most interesting documentary filmmakers.

• Organisers announce Early Bird passes and the Festival Passport

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.

Between 19 and 23 October, in Sibiu, pupils are discovering the world through documentary films, debating artificial intelligence and education, and learning to spot disinformation. Can artificial intelligence control our emotions? How do we recognise information that is trying to manipulate us? What does it mean to feel at home? Astra Film Junior brings these questions into the cinema and gives pupils the space to seek answers, debate and express their own perspectives.

CEE Animation Forum becomes the first animation-focused event selected to present the Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award, joining a network of European series markets under the programme.
The Award of €50,000 for one European animated series project in development with strong international co-production potential will be presented at the CEE Animation Forum's 14th edition (10–12 November 2026, Pilsen, Czech Republic). 

The MIOB In Shorts Award, part of the MIOB (Moving Images – Open Borders) network’s programme, celebrates outstanding European short films through a distinctive audience-driven format: the winner is chosen entirely by public vote.

Each MIOB member festival nominates two European short films for the competition. This year’s twelve selected titles are available to watch online from September 1 to October 15, 2026, giving viewers the opportunity to discover the films and vote for their favourite.

The twelve films can be streamed on the This Is Short platform throughout the voting period The programme will then travel to FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany in November, where all twelve titles will be screened and the winner of the 2026 MIOB In Shorts Award will be announced at the festival’s closing ceremony.

Spanning fiction, documentary and experimental cinema, this year’s selection brings together distinctive voices from across Europe, moving between intimate personal stories and wider questions of identity, memory, displacement and belonging. Together, the twelve films offer a snapshot of contemporary European short filmmaking in all its formal and thematic diversity.

Audiences can watch the full selection and cast their votes by registering on the European streaming platform This Is Short. The platform offers a free 14-day trial without a credit card, followed by a subscription of €0.99 per month. Each film has a dedicated “Vote” button, making the voting process quick and straightforward. All twelve films are available with English subtitles, with streaming and voting open until October 15, 2026.

Who will win? The audience decides.

Discover the full selection and cast your vote on:

https://thisisshort.filmchief.com/hub/section/189?back=browse

Find out more about the MIOB In Shorts Award:

https://miob.info/miob-in-shorts-award

 

MIOB IN SHORTS AWARD 2026 – OFFICIAL SELECTION

FOUND&LOST – Reza Rasouli (Austria, 2025, 17’)

INDEX – Radu Muntean (Romania, 2025, 29’)

TEM FÉ – Helen Esther Aschauer, Leonor Patrocinio (Portugal, 2025, 8’)

FROM SOMETHING TO NOTHING – Michael Heindl (Austria, 2025, 7’)

PVRGATORIVM – Máté Gergely Kiss (Hungary, 2025, 24’)

LIME KILN WORKERS – Nevena Micić, Katarina Micić, Filip Marojević (Serbia, 2025, 10’)

BEYOND SILENCE – Marnie Blok (Netherlands, 2025, 17’)

KJÆLEDYRUTRYDDELSE – Mikkel Storm Glomstein (Norway, 2025, 14’)

THOSE WHO MOVE – Stephanie Ricci (Portugal, 2025, 20’)

PRA/RASTI PASAULIAI – Aušra Lukošiūnienė (Lithuania, 2025, 20’)

MARELLE – Kristjan Poom (Estonia, 2025, 19’)

DEAD BUT NOT GONE – Hêvî Çinar (Turkey/Germany, 2025, 22’)