Two Close Up Projects at Sheffield MeetMarket

Two Close Up projects have been selected for Sheffield DocFest MeetMarket pitching forum! We congratulate the filmmakers and wish them a wonderful pitch in the UK!

The two projects include 40 YEARS OF SILENCE and SEARCHING FOR MARIAM.

40 YEARS OF SILENCE, directed by Maythem Ridha, follows Zainab as she embarks on a journey she has dreaded, returning from exile in the UK back to Iraq, to discover why her late father tried to assassinate Saddam Hussein. Along the way she unravels the dark history of her nation. Will this perilous journey finally heal Zainab’s open wounds?

SEARCHING FOR MARIAM, directed by Jehan Selim Harney, follows Cinderella, who is searching for her missing trans friend, Mariam, while trying to find her true self after her Gender Confirmation Surgery (GCS). Their story reveals the underrepresented trans struggle in Egypt, the only Arab country that briefly legalized GCS under the Muslim Brotherhood rule.

MeetMarket includes 35 international documentary projects in development or at production stage, to be pitched in one-to-one meetings to international and UK decision-makers and experts. The event will be staged in-person for the first time since 2019 and will move online in the days following the Festival.

The 2022 projects encompass 25 countries of production/co-production: Bahamas, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Costa Rica, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, United States.

For more information on MeetMarket and the selected project >>
https://sheffdocfest.com/2022-meetmarket-projects