CLOSE UP, a Brussels-based not-for-profit organization, puts artists from “broken” societies in touch with others, working to build bridges despite censorship: “passionate, talented and courageous film-makers with a deep understanding of the complexities of their communities […] who shine a light on the most pressing social and political realities.”
CLOSE UP invites directors from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to submit their documentary projects by July 31st 2021. The programme supports up to 24 documentary film-makers a year from various ethnic, religious or political backgrounds of the Middle East, North Africa and the Nordic countries.
Film-makers selected for the period 2021-2022 will receive a full grant to cover tuition fees, flights, meals & accommodation for three one-week workshops in Morocco, Turkey and online. The CLOSE UP programme is tailor-made and run by established mentors in documentary film-making who accompany the directors through the creative process of developing a co-production package.
Participants will learn about the artistic challenges of documentaries, storytelling techniques, the elements of drama as well as production tools such as budgeting, contracts and financial planning.
During the final workshop there will be a pitching session for the directors to present their projects to potential financiers from the international documentary market, partners of CLOSE UP including the Medimed Market in Spain, Doc’s Up Funds, the Jacob Burns Film Center in New York, Silver Sun Foundation Residency, Movies that Matter and the Middle East Now Film Festival in Italy.
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Sources: closeupinitiative.org
