About
Filmmaker and producer, founder of Augmented Films.
A Romanian director, screenwriter, and producer, born in Suceava, in northeastern Romania near the border with Ukraine.
She studied film directing and production at UNATC, Romania’s national film and theater university in Bucharest. Her feature debut, Clouds of Chernobyl (2022), produced by Pala Film, premiered in the Romanian Days competition of the Transilvania International Film Festival and was acquired by HBO for 10 Central and Eastern European countries.
She founded Augmented Films in 2024 and leads its US sister company, Noetic Ark LLC. She also directs for the stage and works with virtual reality and large-scale installations.
Augmented Films produces. Our US sister company, Noetic Ark LLC, handles international sales. Ligia Ciornei leads both.
Bucharest, Romania · Founded 2024
Augmented Films develops and co-produces feature films, documentaries, and series with partners across Romania, Ukraine, the UK, and beyond.
Immersive films and content in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
United States · International sales and production
Noetic Ark LLC is a US-based film sales agency and production company specializing in Eastern European independent cinema.
Noetic Ark connects culturally rooted cinema with the international marketplace through strategic festival positioning, sales agency representation, and direct distribution partnerships.
“A newly established company founded by Ligia Ciornei, focused on the production of immersive films and content in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).”
With the Creative Romanian Film Makers delegation, supported by ARICE.
We produce in Bucharest and work with partners in Ukraine and beyond. Through Noetic Ark LLC, films from Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe reach audiences across five continents.
Ligia Ciornei’s feature debut, produced by Pala Film. Territories as listed by the film’s producers.
Where to Watch
Stories of identity, borders, and recent history.
Ligia Ciornei is CEO of the Festival of Thinking, a festival for film, technology, and business organized by Noetic Ark, a cultural association in Bucharest. The Bucharest edition took place August 27–30, 2026. The New York edition runs November 17–20, 2026, in Midtown Manhattan. The New York edition took place November 17–20, 2026, in Midtown Manhattan. Gone Guy (November 18) and Grounded (November 19) screen there as works in progress at Scandinavia House.
Contact
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