Thursday Cinema
Nema-ye Nazdik [Close-Up]
Salt Beyoğlu
May 9, 2019 19.00
![Nema Yenazdik 1990 <i>Nema-ye Nazdik</i> [Yakın Plan] (1990) filminden bir kare ©Tamasa Distribution](/directus/media/thumbnails/nema-yenazdik_1990-jpg-780-5000-false.jpg)
Still from Nema-ye Nazdik [Close-Up] (1990) ©Tamasa Distribution
Walk-in Cinema
Nema-ye Nazdik [Close-Up] (1990)
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
98 minutes
Persian, Azerbaijani; Turkish and English subtitles
In 1989, Hossein Sabzian, an unemployed bookbinder and passionate cinephile from Tehran, was arrested for impersonating director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and conning a well-off family into believing they would star in his next film. Fascinated with this story published in a weekly magazine, Abbas Kiarostami put aside his plans for the second film Zendegi va digar hich [And Life Goes On] as part of his “Koker Trilogy,” and decided to make a documentary about Sabzian. He immediately obtained an official permission to record the trial, and also convinced Sabzian, the Ahankhah family, journalist Hossain Farazmand, and Makhmalbaf to participate in the film.
A cinematic blend of reality and fiction on identity, moral dilemmas, and power of cinema, Nema-ye Nazdik [Close-Up] (1990) explores the truth behind Sabzian’s motives by reenacting his “short film,” which he accidentally wrote, directed, and starred in the Ahankhahs’ house along with the consequences of his deceitful actions. Showing that truth can be stranger than fiction, the docudrama ranked #42 in the British Film Institute’s “Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time.”
Thursday Cinema is supported by Garanti Mortgage. Program is free. Reservations are not accepted.
In accordance with Article 7 of Law No. 5224 amended on 18.01.2019,
films that have not been assessed and classified by the General Directorate of Cinema, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkey, can only be screened under the classification of 18+ at festivals, special screenings or similar culture and arts events.
Nema-ye Nazdik [Close-Up] (1990)
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
98 minutes
Persian, Azerbaijani; Turkish and English subtitles
In 1989, Hossein Sabzian, an unemployed bookbinder and passionate cinephile from Tehran, was arrested for impersonating director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and conning a well-off family into believing they would star in his next film. Fascinated with this story published in a weekly magazine, Abbas Kiarostami put aside his plans for the second film Zendegi va digar hich [And Life Goes On] as part of his “Koker Trilogy,” and decided to make a documentary about Sabzian. He immediately obtained an official permission to record the trial, and also convinced Sabzian, the Ahankhah family, journalist Hossain Farazmand, and Makhmalbaf to participate in the film.
A cinematic blend of reality and fiction on identity, moral dilemmas, and power of cinema, Nema-ye Nazdik [Close-Up] (1990) explores the truth behind Sabzian’s motives by reenacting his “short film,” which he accidentally wrote, directed, and starred in the Ahankhahs’ house along with the consequences of his deceitful actions. Showing that truth can be stranger than fiction, the docudrama ranked #42 in the British Film Institute’s “Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time.”
Thursday Cinema is supported by Garanti Mortgage. Program is free. Reservations are not accepted.
films that have not been assessed and classified by the General Directorate of Cinema, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkey, can only be screened under the classification of 18+ at festivals, special screenings or similar culture and arts events.
