Preceded by shorts: In 1970 Kiarostami established the filmmaking department of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (where he and other key directors made films until very recently). He produced a series of internationally acclaimed shorts, many of which use children as subject and actors. Kiarostami creates young characters who are sophisticated and aware, constantly developing their sense of moral priorities to which adults are unwitting obstacles. The Bread and Alley (Nan Va Kucheh, 1970, 10 mins, B&W): A boy finds the road blocked by a frightening stray dog, with no adult passerby offering assistance. Break Time (Zange Tafrih, 1972, 14 mins, B&W): The adventures of a rascal. Solution Number One (Rah-e Hall-e Yek, 1978, 11 mins, Color): A man coping with a flat tire devises his own solution when no one stops to assist him. The Chorus (Hamsoryan, 1982, 17 mins, Color): Children locked out of their house attempt to make themselves heard by their grandfather. (All: Abbas Kiarostami, Iran; In Farsi with English subtitles, 35mm). Plus: Abbas Kiarostami ( , France, 199 ), an interview with the director and his associates-and a trip to the village sites of his films-made by French television. ( mins, In Farsi with French subtitles, Color, Video) ------------------------------------(Nama-ye Nazdik). A newspaper article caught Kiarostami's eye: an unemployed young film buff had wormed his way into the home and hearts of a well-to-do family by impersonating the well-known film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (The Peddler). From this story Kiarostami made an offbeat film about cinema, the swindle and the dream. He enters the story cinéma vérité style, recreating events leading up to the imposter's exposure and arrest, then following the actual court proceedings. In droll re-enactments by obliging real-life protagonists, and in its pathetic hero, the film at times plays like Take the Money and Run ("Let him have his lunch!" the mother says to the arresting gendarmes.) Certainly, Ali Sabzian's accusers attribute to him a craftiness he doesn't possess. His failing is a naiveté that is shared by many: Close-Up is a very moving and surprising film about anomie and the creative responses to it.