CLOSE UP
CLOSE UP
We would like to thank all the filmmakers that apply, they all faced tremendous competition!
Our 22 selected filmmakers from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Turkey & UAE, worked intensely with the Close-Up team & mentors John Appel, Bruni Burres & Gitte Hansen, on the development of their written proposals, visual materials and trailers.
They were all asking fascinating questions on story, characters, cinematic vision, & storytelling. The filmmakers worked hard to break through their artistic challenges.
Besides the group and one on one sessions with the mentors, they attended a lecture on Storytelling by John Appel who shared excerpts from different documentary films.
The next day the filmmakers attended a lecture by Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Close-Up’s Special Expert. Hans Robert spoke about the written proposal & trailers and shared examples on production packages including trailers created by various emerging filmmakers from the MENA region and around the world.
On the last two days of the workshop the filmmakers presented their project and visual material to the whole group and received constructive feedback from the mentors & team. The workshop was concluded with concrete assignments each filmmaker received to be completed in the next coming weeks.
We have an amazing group of talented filmmakers, who are all excited about the opportunity to be part of the Close-Up program & family. They all share that besides the exceptional professional opportunity they are excited about the interaction with colleagues from the MENA region. It enriches their experience as they discover how much they have in common and what a beautiful rich region they come from. It was very moving to listen to their beautiful feedback about our fantastic week together!