On the occasion of Huma Bhabha: Before The End, Public Art Fund, in collaboration with Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, will host a screening of Close-Up, a cinematic masterpiece directed by revered Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. Selected by Bhabha for its unconventional beauty and compelling power, Close-Up is widely considered Kiarostami’s most brilliant and radical work. This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf—as the basis for a multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence, in which the real people from the case play themselves. With its captivating ambiguity and contradictions, Close-Up has resonated with viewers worldwide. The screening of this revolutionary film at Brooklyn Bridge Park provides a unique insight into Bhabha’s own themes and creative influences.
Arrive at 7:30 pm to enjoy complimentary beverages and the Manhattan skyline view at sunset. The film will begin at sundown. We encourage the audience to bring a blanket to sit on the lawn.
Registration is suggested but not required. This event is first come, first served, and registration does not guarantee your entry. However, it allows us to send you an event reminder and share updates and alerts.
This program is organized by Gabriela López Dena, Associate Curator of Public Practice. Special thanks to Brooklyn Brewery.
Accessibility: This film will be screened in Persian with English subtitles. Email [email protected] with questions and requests for accessibility. Please send any needs for services or accommodations to support your participation in this program, including hearing aids, by August 20th.
Youth under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Please note that all attendees will have their bags checked.
No outside alcohol or glass bottles are permitted. Water bottles and non-alcoholic drinks are okay.
Image:
Abbas Kiarostami, Close-Up (still), 1990
Iran, 98 minutes, color, Persian
Courtesy Janus Films
Program Photos
About the Artist
Abbas Kiarostami (1940 – 2016) is internationally recognized as Iran’s finest filmmaker. He was part of the celebrated Iranian New Wave movement that started in the late 1960s. Screenings of his films, including documentaries and shorts, have appeared at numerous international festivals, and his awards and accolades include the Palme d’Or for Best Film for A Taste of Cherry, Cannes Film Festival (1997), and the prestigious Glory to the Filmmaker Award, Venice Film Festival (2008). His photographic work is held in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, LACMA in Los Angeles, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.