Close-Up is a 1990 Iranian film directed by Abbas Kiarostami, dramatizing the real case of a poor cinephile who was arrested after impersonating a well known filmmaker to a family and promising them roles in a nonexistent film. Kiarostami blends documentary and reenactment, filming the man's actual trial alongside restaged scenes performed by the real people involved, blurring the line between fiction and nonfiction filmmaking. It is widely regarded by film critics as one of Kiarostami's major works and one of the most influential films to interrogate the boundary between documentary and fiction.
Facts
Classification
Original Language AwardQuebec Film Critics Award 1 AwardFIPRESCI Prize at Istanbul 1 Release Year FAQs
Who is the man at the center of Close-Up?
Hossein Sabzian; who impersonated filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
The film tells the story of Hossein Sabzian, a man who impersonated the filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and conned a family into believing they would star in his new film.
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Source Close-Up (1990 film), Wikipedia
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Source Close-Up (1990 film), Wikipedia
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Source Close-Up (1990 film), WikipediaLead sentence 1Quote, Lead sentence 1
Close-Up (Persian: کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک, Klūzāp, nemā-ye nazdīk) is a 1990 Iranian docufiction written, directed and edited by Abbas Kiarostami.
Sources
1. Close-Up (1990 film), Wikipedia
Lead, first sentence, year
is a 1990 Iranian docufiction written, directed and edited by Abbas Kiarostami.
Lead, first sentence, country
is a 1990 Iranian docufiction written, directed and edited by Abbas Kiarostami.
Close-Up, Description, original language
Close-Up is a 1990 Iranian film directed by Abbas Kiarostami, dramatizing the real case of a poor cinephile who was arrested after impersonating a well known filmmaker to a family and promising them roles in a nonexistent film.
Wikipedia Awards section (quebec-critics), checked 2026-09-27
1990: Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and Video: Quebec Film Critics Award
Wikipedia Awards section (fipresci-istanbul), checked 2026-09-27
1992: International Istanbul Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize
Created By: Abbas Kiarostami, Article lead sentence
Close-Up (Persian: کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک, Klūzāp, nemā-ye nazdīk) is a 1990 Iranian docufiction written, directed and edited by Abbas Kiarostami.
In Medium: Film, Lead
The film tells the story of Hossein Sabzian, a man who impersonated film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and conned a family into believing they would star in his new film.
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