Close Up Films

The world is on the verge of collapse. Climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, infertile soils, overpopulation... Frédéric Choffat's two children, 13 and 17 years old, confront him.

The Future Circular Collider is the machine of the future. Thanks to it, we will finally be able to go back in time to the origin of our universe. But which way do we go to set up the largest scientific instrument of all time? Between metaphysics and underground tunnels, a story of the preparations or how men are ready to move mountains for more knowledge.

In a brick house at the heart of a Rio favela, Sueli yells, scolds, consoles. Matriarch of a noisy clan, she watches over her children and grandchildren, unfazed by the gunfire bursts that set the pace of daily life. Around her, sudden deaths multiply, the children grow up, and the house keeps changing, shaped by never-ending repairs. Still, Sueli holds her ground.

From his prison cell in Texas, Mabry, sentenced to death, imagines the final journey that will one day take him to Walls Unit, the place of his execution, 60 kilometres away.

People's associations with flora goes back a long way, taking us back to our own roots as well as to new ways of life and creative potential that reveal themselves as we deal with plants.

Sam, a seven years old kid, has been living with his mother since the divorce of his parents. He has to temporarily move in with his father, Gerome, who has never taken care of him. So, Sam is not close with his father. Everyone around Gerome thinks that he's incapable to look after a child. After a chaotic start, Sam, by the force of his convictions, is going to help Gerome to get mature and to teach him how to become a father that he missed so much.

To avoid losing custody of her six-year-old daughter in Manila, Luz, an undocumented Filipina cleaner working in a luxury Swiss ski resort, must earn money at any cost – even if it means transgressing her own moral limits.

In a forgotten village of the Yucatán, Lena, a 68-year-old widow, crosses paths with Leon, a 62-year-old Mayan guardian of nature’s secrets and spirits. Lena finds an unexpected companion in Leon. Despite their differences and seemingly opposite worlds, a deep connection forms between them—one that will bind them until death. In his new film, Germinal Roaux, one of the most unique voices of contemporary European cinema, delivers a philosophical story about aging and the decay of the body. Above all, it’s about solidarity and the small gestures of love that give meaning—and dignity—to our existence. True to the aesthetic codes established in his previous works, Roaux’s film, shot in black and white and unfolding with a ritualistic rhythm that mirrors the slow passage of time at the twilight of life, speaks poetically and with genuine emotion about the most essential bond that connects us: love.

Silva, an old drifter, arrives at a small and isolated Portuguese village where he meets the young Ana. They develop a relation in between friendship and initiation. Fascinated by that wondrous man, Ana progressively falls into his universe. A life populated by supernatural figures including her long lost friend Carolina. But strange fits weaken Silva, bringing him to the hospital, where a dozen women start inhabiting him. Will they save him?

Full of hope, Fahed arrived in England from Algeria back in 2001. Fifteen years later, his dreams of prosperity have evaporated and he finds himself in a midlife crisis, no longer knowing where his home is. Will Fahed, the director's cousin, return to his place of birth?

Summer 1900, Switzerland. Elisabeth, 17, is about to take her vows when the sudden death of her older sister forces her to leave the convent and return to the family farm. Stifled by the suffocating and strict rules of the village, walking in her sister’s step to uncover the mystery of her death, Elisabeth is slowly driven to rebel against the local order and for her right to live her life.

How can we better manage patients with diabetes, a chronic disease that affects more and more people around the world? Conducted on three continents, an in-depth investigation into an alarming situation.

Agadez in Niger has long been the starting point for people smugglers moving migrants through the desert to Libya. Under pressure from Europe, the Niger government has been trying to combat people smuggling, but the local economy offers few alternatives. Those who give up smuggling usually end up in gold mining. But it’s hard and dangerous work, and only a few make their fortunes.

Pierre and Manon are poor. They make documentaries with nothing and they live by doing odd jobs. Pierre meets a young intern, Elisabeth, and she becomes his mistress. But Pierre will not leave Manon for Elisabeth; he wants to keep both.

Oscar, not quite a child anymore, scavenges for scrap metal for his father. He spends his life in improvised landfills among what remains of leftovers. Worlds apart, yet close-by, there is Stanley. He tidies the church in exchange for a monetised hospitality, picks fruits, herds sheep: anything that keep his foreign body busy. Oscar, the young Sicilian, and Stanley the Nigerian don’t seem to have much in common. Except for the feeling of being thrown into the world, to suffer the same refusal, the same overwhelming wave of choices imposed on them by others.

It’s the beginning of summer, and Juliette, 17, freshly graduated from high school, is about to leave for scout camp. In her backpack, she doesn’t forget her essentials: tarot cards, some stones, a pendulum and her telephone. Juliette, who has 40’000 followers, defines herself as a modern witch. Between swims and beach parties, the young woman heals her friends’ sunburns, asks the universe for help with her university admission, and draws cards to figure out the path she and her friends should take in their lives.

Summer 1998—Kabul under Taliban rule. Zunaira and Mohsen are young and in love. Despite the daily violence and misery, they hope for a better future. One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn.

Algiers, 2015. Adlan and Terrorist navigate the Sacré Coeur neighborhood, desperately trying to make a few dinars.

Luc travels to Paris for the first time to sit the entrance exam for a carpentry school. There he meets Djemila, a young worker with whom he enjoys a short romance, before returning to his home town and beginning a relationship with Geneviève, whom he has known since childhood. Caught between two passions, Luc runs, resolving to fulfil his father's dreams by devoting himself to his future... until finally, he experiences true love.

2028. For reasons unknown to men, the earth is slowly growing closer to the sun. The planet is now separated in two distinct zones: the North, barely livable, and the South, which has become too hot to be inhabited. In the heart of the Congo, a small group of soldiers witnesses the expansion of the southern forest.