FILMS

Close Up Films

Since its initiation in 2019, Close Up has supported the development of 80 feature-length documentary projects and worked with 110+ emerging documentary filmmakers from the entire region of Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA).

We are proud to share that so far ten Close Up films have already been released and premiered at prestigious A-list international film festivals! Amongst them are the Berlinale, Tribeca Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Telluride Film Festival, Camden International Film Festival, CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, Vision du Reel in Nyon Switzerland, IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), Movies that Matters in the Netherlands, FIPADOC France, Cinema Du Reel, France, DOC NYC , El Gouna Film Festival Egypt, Amman International Film Festival, Red Sea Film Festival, Full Frame Film festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival to name a few.

Scroll down to view the extraordinary Close Up Films!

NoOtherLand

NO OTHER LAND

Directed  by Basel Adaraa, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Hamdan Balal, PALESTINE/NORWAY (2024), 1h.32m

Close Up 2020-2021 alumni

BEST DOCUMENTARY & BEST AUDIENCE AWARD BERLINALE 2024

For the past ten years, Basel, a young Palestinian activist, has been filming his community being destroyed by Israeli soldiers. During the darkest year of his life, he develops an unlikely relationship with a similarly aged Israeli journalist – who wants to join his struggle.

 

6bee91c1-8f6f-dfcb-ed29-a2461432e741

KAMAY

Directed by Ilyas Yourish, and  Contributing Director Shahrokh Bikaran, AFGHANISTAN, BELGIUM, GERMANY, FRANCE (2024), 1h 46m

Close Up 2019-2020 alumni

MUNICH INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL – DOK.HORIZONTE COMPETITION AWARD 2024

“Kamay” tells the story of  the Khawari, a Hazara family in Central Afghanistan who tries to uncover the truth behind the sudden death of their daughter Zahra who studied at the Kabul University. Narrated by her sister Freshta this poignant film portrays their journey to seek justice until the Taliban rise to power.

Copy of WhatsApp Image 2023-07-24 at 21.43.51

HOLLYWOODGATE

Directed by Ibrahim Nash’at & produced by Talal Derki . GERMANY, USA(2023), 1h 32m

Close Up 2021-2022 alumni

US PREMIERE AT TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL 2023, USA

The day after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban immediately move to occupy the Hollywood Gate complex, claimed to be a former CIA base in Kabul. The Taliban find what the most technologically advanced military in history left behind: aircrafts, weapons, and valuable military equipment. Over the course of one year, the film exposes the transformation of a fundamentalist militia into a military regime.

03-PK-Gaza-By-PK-Gaza-1920x1000

YALLA PARKOUR

Directed by Areeb Zuaiter, JORDAN/PALESTINE (2024)

Close Up Alumni 2022-2023

Doc NYC Film Festival November 2024

Docs UP Fund Award at the Close UP 2022-2023

When filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter lost her Palestinian mother, she lost her connection to Gaza. With all the memories from her childhood destroyed, she sets out on a quest to connect with a young man she sees in a video doing parkour among ruins in Gaza. With Ahmad as her guide, she explores life in Gaza, and rebuilds her memories of her mother and her childhood. In this time when Gaza and its people are being devastated every day, here’s a portrait of a tormented city and the perseverance of its people.

Q Still Image 3

Q

Directed by Jude Chehab, LEBANON,USA (2023), 1h 31m

Close Up 2020-2021 alumni

WORLD PREMIERE AT TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2023, NYC, USA – ALBERT MAYSLES AWARD FOR BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR

An intimate and haunting portrayal of a quest for love and acceptance at any cost, Q depicts the insidious influence of a secretive matriarchal religious order in Lebanon on three generations of women in the Chehab family. 

1920

WRITING HAWA

Directed by Najiba Noori FRANCE, NETHERLANDS, QATAR, AFGHANISTAN (2024), 1h.24m

Close Up 2020-2021 alumni

IDFA FILM FESTIVAL AND FORUM 2024

Forty years after her arranged marriage as a child, Hawa is eager to finally begin the life that was taken from her. Hawa wants to be literate and have the joyful experiences she never had as a youth. However, Hawa is once again blocked by the oppressive barriers of the Taliban regime, as she tries to liberate herself as an independent woman.

1468924

LES MIENNES

Directed by Samira El Mouzghibati, BELGIUM, FRANCE (2024), 1h 36m

Close Up 2019-2020 alumni

VISIONS DU RÉEL –  THE FIPRESCI AWARD AND THE ZONTA AWARD 2024

“Les Miennes”: Samira, the youngest of five sisters, calls her family together, camera in hand, for a rare meeting: “to help each other without having to go through a shrink or an imam”. Her mother remains silent. It’s not until she arrives in her native village that she reveals her secrets, her regrets and her strength – and that the profound bond and legacy that unites them, between love and rejection, begins to reveal itself.

01_BOF_Still

BAGHDAD ON FIRE

Directed by Karrar Al-Azzawi, IRAQ (2023), 1h

Close Up 2020-2021 alumni

WORLD PREMIERE AT CPH:DOX COPENHAGEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023

This film is an intimate and dramatic journey following Tiba, an Iraqi young woman fighting for freedom and equality. Twenty years has passed since the US-led invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein. On October 1st 2022 young men and women gather in thousands at Tahrir square in the middle of Baghdad to celebrate the 3 years anniversary of the largest youth demonstrations in the history of Iraq. 

Savoy_Pic_000365

SAVOY

Directed by Zohar Wagner, ISRAEL,GERMANY (2022), 1h 18m

Close Up 2020-2021 alumni

ISRAEL FILM ACADEMY BEST EDITING AWARD, BEST ART DIRECTION AWARD: OPHIR AWARDS 2022

 

In a new hybrid documentary, fiction-docu film, Zohar Wagner tells the story the deadly 1975 Hotel Savoy terror attack in Tel Aviv from the perspective of a forgotten heroine. Savoy tells the story of Kochava Levy, a young woman of Yemeni descent, who served as mediator between PLO terrorists and the IDF while being held hostage in Tel Aviv – during the night of the deadly 1975 Hotel Savoy terror attack. 

 

The Therapy - Still 01 - photo credit_ Zvi Landsman

THE THERAPY

Directed by Zvi Landsman, ISRAEL (2021), 1h 25m

Close Up 2019-2020 alumni

WORLD PREMIERE AT DOCAVIV TEL AVIV INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL 2021 – SPECIAL JURY AWARD WINNER

Conversion Therapy is revealed from within for the first time. Lev, a 54 year-old divorced Orthodox Jew, attends conversion therapy hoping to be remarried to a woman. He attends one-on-one therapy sessions and group therapy, believing his unwanted same-sex attractions will disappear. 

Ever Since I Knew Myself (4)

EVER SINCE I KNEW MYSELF

Directed by Maka Gogaladze, GEORGIA (2024), 1h 25m

Close Up 2022-2023 alumni

VISIONS DU RÉEL – WORLD PREMIERE 2024

Embarking on a personal journey, the author delves into intimate dialogues with her mother and teacher and travels across Georgia, observing children in various classes. Navigating post-Soviet society, she reflects on her own experiences that have shaped her personal identity.

The Governor

THE GOVERNOR

Directed by Danel Elpeleg, ISRAEL (2024), 1h 11m

Close Up 2021-2022 alumni

JERUSALEM FILM FESTIVAL 2024 – BEST DOCUMENTARY 

My grandfather was a military governor of the Arab citizens of Israel after the establishment of the state. The positive image he presented to me slowly crumbles when I reveal his true actions as ruler. A journey that makes me ask questions about my personal-political heritage, and my present self.