About Us
Close Up is a training, development, and mentorship program for documentary filmmakers from
Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Positioned at the intersection of arts, media, social change, and peace-building, Close Up is the only initiative of its kind in the region, creating a transformational experience for emerging filmmakers, coming from diverse ethnic, religious, cultural, and political backgrounds, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
Close Up was founded as a non-profit organization in Brussels, Belgium by five independent partners who collectively believe that working with emerging filmmakers from our region is essential to creating and maintaining cultural awareness and protecting our future. The partners include: Sigal Yehuda, Ahmet Boyacioglu, Bruni Burres, John Appel and Vincent Melilli.
Our Program
We support filmmakers in developing and creating compelling documentaries that illuminate the social and political realities of our complex and ever-changing region.
News & Newsletter
Join our mailing list to hear updates about our program and activities
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS ⚡️
The NIPKOW PROGRAMM is a specialized fellowship designed for international film and media professionals seeking opportunities in Berlin. It offers personalized mentoring and targeted training seminars covering aspects such as packaging, promotion, sales, and emerging technologies.
Calling on creatives worldwide—including writers, directors, producers, and animators—the program invites submissions of current feature film projects. The NIPKOW PROGRAM supports project development through individual consultations with script consultants and potential producers/co-producers, along with tailor-made workshops.
Successful participants will receive a monthly grant of 1,500 Euros, allowing them to focus exclusively on their work. Commitment to working solely on their projects during their time in Berlin is expected.
Save the date, as applications will be accepted until midnight Berlin time on January 9, 2024.
Best of luck! 🌟 ... See MoreSee Less
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Francky Tohouegnon
How to apply?
We are happy to announce a new collaboration with the Goethe-Institut in Exile in Berlin! 4 Close Up alumni filmmakers were selected to participate in a 2-day event in Berlin on December 11-12, in which we will screen their work-in-progress to industry professionals. Our selected projects are BITTER SUGAR by @ana_barjadze, LIFE IN THE SHADOWS by @khadimdai & Ilyas Yourish, SEARCHING FOR MARIAM by Jehan Selim Harney and OUR SEEDS by @erhan_arik & @meryem.yavuz
The Close Up work-in-progress selected projects are directed by emerging filmmakers coming from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. These extraordinary creative projects reflect some of the most urgent issues, including the impact of the ongoing massacre on children from the Hazara community in Quetta, the reality of Georgian children who are living for years without their parents who must work in Europe to provide for their families, a generational conflict in a farming family in Northeastern Turkey, and the underrepresented trans community struggle for freedom in Egypt.
The screening & discussion will be followed by one-on-one meetings with industry experts from Berlin; among them are colleagues from the Berlinale Film Festival, representatives of the European Film Market, the Diversity & Inclusion program at the Berlinale, the Wim Wenders Foundation, representatives of the Documentary Association of Europe, prominent producers, and others. We would like to use the opportunity and deeply thank the wonderful team of the Goethe-Institut in Exile in Berlin for this valuable collaboration that provides significant networking opportunities for the Close Up filmmakers from the SWANA region! ... See MoreSee Less
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What an inspirational week-long First Workshop for the 2023–2024 cohort! Full of amazing lectures, screenings, masterclasses, group and one-on-one meetings, and presentations, we’ve been filled with excitement and honor thanks to the creative projects of our 13 filmmakers. 👏👏
✨✨ Our mentors, @bruniburres, Gitte Hansen, John Appel, and @ninokirtadze1, worked together to get further along with their promising projects. After all the hard work, the filmmakers presented their projects in front of the entire group, moderated by Close Up Founder & Executive Director Sigal Yehuda. The filmmakers recieved assignments in prepation for the Secon Workshop, scheduled in February 2024.
🎊 Now we are getting ready in full force for our wonderful Second Workshop! Looking forward to pursuing our filmmakers work-in-progress journey, and we are extremely excited to reunite after a short while! ... See MoreSee Less
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