CLOSE UP

The story of a minor scam becomes the subject of a complex film, on the verge between documentary and fiction, based on a true story and featuring its actual protagonists: the desperate and penniless Sabzian, an aspiring film director, who introduces himself to a wealthy family as the famous Mohsen Makhmalbaf and tries to convince them to finance a film to be shot in their home and starring the family’s son. When the scam is revealed, Sabzian is arrested and jailed. And then Kiarostami comes along with his film crew, to shoot an interview with Sabzian without his knowledge. The film explores the multi-faceted relationship of perpetrators and victims with the cinema, but also with truth and lies.