Berlin Workshop December 2023

WIP SHOWCASE & BERLIN WORKSHOP IN COLLABORATION WITH THE GOETHE-INSTITUT IM EXILE

We had a fantastic new collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Im Exile in Berlin for a 2-day event on December 11-12. 4 Close Up alumni filmmakers BITTER SUGAR by Ana Barjadze, LIFE IN THE SHADOWS by Khadim Dai and Ilyas Yourish, SEARCHING FOR MARIAM by Jehan Selim Harney, and OUR SEEDS by Erhan Arik and Meryem Yavuz screened their work-in-progress to industry professionals in ACUD Kino Art House. 

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.

After the showcase of these extraordinary creative projects, filmmakers had one-on-one meetings with industry experts and decision-makers 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, prominent producers, and others. Anke Patersen (Jyoti Film); the special advisor of Close Up Hans Robert Eisenhauer; Lilian Tietjen (Jyoti Film); Martina Baumgartner (EFM) Martin Pieper (ZDF/ARTE) and Natalia Imaz (Producer) had productive one-on-one meetings with Close Up filmmakers after the screenings and discussions. Moreover, Babette Dieu from the European Film Market of the Berlinale, presented an insightful presentation on the last day of the event. We learned about the wonderful opportunities the EFM provides to documentary filmmakers. 

We thank the amazing team of the Goethe-Institut Im Exile for these inspiring few days in Berlin, it was such a wonderful experience and significant networking opportunities for the Close Up filmmakers from the SWANA region! We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration in the near future.