Closeness

1998, Nalchik, North Caucasus, Russia. Twenty-four-year-old Ilana works in her father’s garage. One evening, her extended family gathers to celebrate the engagement of her younger brother, David. Later that night, the young couple is kidnapped, and a ransom demand is delivered. Within this close-knit Jewish community, police involvement is not an option. How will the family raise the money to save David?

First-time filmmaker Kantemir Balagov presents a hauntingly evocative film, shedding light upon a family under crisis and the stark measures it must take to save one of its loved ones. Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the most recent Cannes Film Festival.