Ninety-nine projects that support the cultural and educational development of the Republic of Moldova are financed this year by the Government of Romania through the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova. Among them is the Astra Film Festival, which started on Thursday in Chisinau. Thus, a selection of award-winning films and a series of educational events are presented at Loteanu Cinema. Entrance to all of them is free of charge, IPN reports.

Among the important moments of the festival is the presence of poet Ana Blandiana, who will participate on Friday, November 15, in the screening of the documentary "Between Silence and Sin", directed by Diana Nicolae. After the screening, she will have a dialogue with the audience.

In an interview with Radio Chisinau, secretary of state of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova of the Romanian Government, Adrian Dupu, stressed that Astra Film Chisinau has become a traditional event that promotes a cultural dialogue between the two banks of the Prut.

"All the projects we financed had free admission. It is not a surprise, but a novelty that we manage to bring Astra Film to Chisinau for the third consecutive year. Astra Film is an established project in Romania, being the largest documentary film festival in Eastern Europe and one of the largest in Europe. It reached its 31st edition in Romania and I’m glad that we manage to make it a traditional event in Chisinau as well. We come with new films, including Romanian ones, and poet Ana Blandiana will also be present on Friday, at the screening of the documentary "Between Silence and Sin". I’m glad that Ana Blandiana, one of the greatest living Romanian poets, will be in Chisinau. This is one more reason for film and literature lovers to be present", said Adrian Dupu.

He noted the considerable increase in funding granted by the Department, mentioning these funds’ major impact on the Republic of Moldova.

"I’m glad that we managed, since I took over the Department, to grow almost 20 times and to be able to implement more projects, to be able to reach more people. We have two ways: we finance new projects, implement new direct projects and, then, there is the financing session within which we receive projects and they are analyzed. From this year, out of 350 projects submitted, we managed to finance 99," stated Adrian Dupu.

The Department also supported other important projects lately, including the Festival of Romanian Traditions held in the Botanical Garden in Chisinau and a series of educational projects. Also, 100,000 books were donated to Moldovan libraries and large-scale cultural events were staged, such as the Transylvania International Film Festival in Chisinau and theater tours.

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