Overview

Close Up is an annual year-long training and development 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 many young filmmakers, coming from diverse ethnic, religious and cultural 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 and Yemen. Close Up is a non-profit organization based in Brussels, Belgium founded by five partners who have been working together since 2007. The founders dedicate themselves to maintaining the unique community they have created as they collectively believe in the urgency and necessity of a dialogue between individual artists coming from broken societies but aiming to go beyond censorship, and years of indoctrination about the "others." The Close Up founders are Sigal Yehuda, Bruni Burres, Vincent Melilli, John Appel and Ahmet Boyacioglu.