Close-ups

5 films
The private lives of Palestinians, climate change and many facets of the refugee crisis – this section features documentaries that explore contemporary social, political and environmental phenomena from an unconventional perspective. Filmmakers portray, for example, the real and imagined world of an Afghan girl on her way to Europe, or the fate of young Americans who have become refugees in their own country. We will also find out about the surprising absurdities of life in the West Bank and explore many levels of paradox in the modern world through the eyes of… a polar bear.
  • A Fox Under a Pink Moon

    dir. Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhalaghi
    dok2025

    A documentary film master follows the several-year-long odyssey of Soraya, a teenager who fled Afghanistan and is trying to reach Europe via Iran. Directed remotely, the film consists of footage recorded on a smartphone by the protagonist herself, as well as her artwork.

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    film still A Fox Under a Pink Moon
  • Flana

    dir. Zahraa Ghandour
    dok2025

    Why are young women disappearing in today’s Iraq? The film director attempts to track down her childhood friend, which marks the beginning of a personal investigation and a story about a hushed-up social phenomenon. Nour’s search turns into a hypnotic journey through the streets of Baghdad.

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    film still Flana
  • For Life (Ömür boyu)

    dir. Ahmet Seven
    dok2026

    Hind, a Palestinian woman, would like to become pregnant again, but her husband is serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison. During visits, she has no physical contact with him, so she has decided to take a risky step — smuggle sperm out from behind bars and undergo in vitro fertilisation.

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    film still For Life
  • Lowland Kids

    dir. Sandra Winther
    dok2025

    Two teenagers from Isle de Jean Charles are forced to leave their home — just like other residents of the town, most of whom are Native Americans. The activity of oil companies and climate change have left Louisiana’s low-lying areas at risk of submersion. Through the eyes of the protagonists, we witness the beauty of the world that is fading into the past.

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    film still Lowland Kids
  • Nuisance Bear

    dir. Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osioi Vanden
    dok2025

    A friendly white bear, which has become the emblem of the Canadian town of Churchill, is also the living symbol of a local conflict of interests. Climate change has exposed polar bears to the risk of extinction and forced them to live ever closer to humans.

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    film still Nuisance Bear