Projects 2023-2024
October 6, 2023
Projects 2024-2025
Projects 2024-2025
CLOSE UP
We are excited to announce the 12 selected projects from Southwest Asia and North Africa for the upcoming 2024-2025 Close Up program! We’re thrilled to have received over 85 projects from talented filmmakers across Southwest Asia & North Africa, showcasing powerful stories. The selection process has been inspiring and very competitive. The 2024-2025 Close Up selected cohort comprises visionary documentarians whose groundbreaking works traverse the globe, revealing narratives that are concealed from public discourse.
14.5 KM AWAY FROM OUR DREAMS
Lilit Mkhitaryan, Producer Ruzanna Ghazaryan
Arthur, Arman, Kima and Zakar are living in Margara, a village located on the Armenian-Turkish border with the closest view of Mount Ararat. Artur and Arman are teenage friends and have the dream to climb to the top of Ararat, the Armenian symbol. But even though the mountain seems very close to their house, it is in Turkey. Kima is an ex-teacher of history from Margara school. She is impatient for peace. Zakar lives next to the border. He is concerned about his house which could be demolished after the border opening.
ACHES OF JUSTICE
Daham Alasaad
Between Paris, Berlin, and Damascus, the quest for justice by Syrian war victims in exile takes
shape. Then the unthinkable happens: The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Does Justice
becomes possible for the Syrians victims!
BURY A DOVE
Noga Chevion, Producer Udi Nir & Sagi Bornstein
An 85-year-old Holocaust survivor dressed as Hitler roams the streets of Tel Aviv. This is Dov Or-Ner, whose life as an artist — burning and burying his art — was a symphony of creation and destruction. He is an iconic figure who dared to break taboos about Holocaust memory and Israeli identity. After his death, his granddaughter embarks on an immersive quest to unearth his lost and controversial works, uncovering his tumultuous life.
ECHOES OF AVEY
Atanur Nabiyeva, Producer Durna Safarova
HANA, ALGERIA AND ME
Assia Tamerdjent, Producer François Combin
Hana, my older sister, lives alone in Algiers. We parted ways 7 years ago, when I chose to immigrate to Paris. I decide to take my camera and come back to her during a summer trip. This film is the story of a complicated reconciliation, between two sisters that Algeria gave birth to, and that Algeria separated.
MY GRANDFATHER, ME AND A REVOLUTION
Sophie Shevardnadze, Producer Sergei Yahontov
The events of the film unfold in Tbilisi, Georgia, in late November 2003, when Sophie, the 23-year-old granddaughter of Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, visits her family. Unexpectedly, she becomes a witness to her grandfather’s final two days in power during a revolution in full swing. Sophie documents the turbulent events on her student mini-DV camera.
MY AUNTIES
Hazal Hanquet, Producer Aslıhan Altuğ
Aslı and Ayşın’s 40-year love and friendship story unfolds through the eyes of Hazal, who grew up considering both women as her aunts. Through personal archives, photos, and intimate conversations, Hazal traces her aunts’ queer journey across Turkey’s shifting political and social landscapes. Their story, from youthful joy to painful separation and reunion, becomes a meditation on love, resilience, and quiet defiance in a country which seeks to keep it hidden.
THE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER’S FAMILY PORTRAIT
Nurlan Hasanli, Producer Irina Gelashvili
THE 10TH MONTH
Rachel Szor
A mother from Gaza must flee to the other side of the fence. Torn between seeking safety and safeguarding her children, she is fighting for freedom against all odds
CONFIDENTIAL
A collective of Filmmakers from Afghanistan
This character-driven documentary captures the underground scenes of women’s historic resistance in occupied Kabul.
TRUTH HIDES SO WELL
Jabrane Lakhssassi, Producer Nasser Benabderrahman
UNTITLED
Anonymous project from the Southwest Asia
A powerful, intergenerational journey where feminist activists from Southwest Asia reclaim their narratives, bridging the past and present to challenge oppression and rewrite the history of resistance.
