A man impersonated a famous director, and the filmmaker turned it into a masterpiece.

Art · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1989, Abbas Kiarostami read a magazine article about a man who conned a family by pretending to be director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Instead of ignoring the fraud, Kiarostami filmed the actual trial and convinced everyone involved to re-enact their experiences, creating a landmark work that blurs reality and fiction.

The film, Close-Up (1990), centers on Hossein Sabzian, an impoverished cinephile who convinced the Ahankhah family that he was the acclaimed director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Sabzian’s deception began on a bus, where he struck up a conversation with Mrs. Ahankhah by claiming to be the filmmaker, eventually visiting her home to scout locations and cast her sons. His ruse collapsed when the family grew suspicious of his lack of knowledge regarding Makhmalbaf’s recent awards, leading to his arrest for fraud.

Kiarostami’s approach was radical. He secured permission to film the trial and persuaded the real-life participants—including the judge, the journalist who exposed the crime, and the victims—to play themselves. By having the real Sabzian and the real Makhmalbaf meet, the director facilitated a genuine reconciliation, culminating in the family’s decision to pardon the impostor. The result is a docufiction that challenges the boundaries of documentary filmmaking, with critics noting that it functions as a re-enactment of a re-enactment.

While the film was initially met with negative reviews upon its release in Iran, it eventually achieved universal acclaim abroad. It has been ranked among the greatest films of all time in Sight and Sound polls, with critics praising its ability to offer a window into both the psyche of a complicated man and the cultural reality of Iran. Sabzian, who later spoke about his infatuation with cinema in the documentary Close-Up Long Shot, passed away in 2006 at the age of 52.

The legacy of the film extends to its influence on other directors and its status as a foundational text in film studies. It is frequently compared to other works that navigate the space between truth and performance, such as Orson Welles’ F for Fake. By turning a criminal incident into an exploration of human identity and the transformative power of art, Kiarostami created a work that remains a subject of intense academic and artistic analysis.

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