Watch It Now!

After a pretty good festival run, we have decided to share Close Relations with as wide an audience as possible.
Ladies and gentlemen, for your edification and enjoyment, watch Close Relations here.

Postcard design and photo by Margarita Peces.

Dick Latessa as Uncle Jacob and Annie Meisels as Debbie in Close Relations.

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Close Relations at Clermont-Ferrand Market

Close Relations participated in this year's Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market and as a consequence, it has been invited to screen at the Space for Shorts Film Festival in Peterborough, England. We are totally thrilled!
The short was also invited for submission to the BeFilm Underground Film Festival in New York City.
We'd love nothing more than to be able to show Close Relations in a festival in its hometown, so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Back from Mexico!

Close Relations was screened as part of the Sixth International Jewish Film Festival in Mexico City. The nice thing about this festival, besides the fact that it allows my dear friends and family in Mexico to check out the short on the big screen, is that the short had several screenings in different theaters across Mexico City. It had its Mexican premiere at the Cineteca Nacional, which is the best I could hope for. There we had a lively discussion about the film with the audience.
As part of the festival, I also participated in a panel with other Mexican Jewish filmmakers which was very interesting. And I must thank the many friends and family who came to support the short. It was a great honor and a great joy for me to show it to many old friends.

O Canada!

Close Relations was up for a distribution deal in Canada and it was very flattering and exciting that our neighbors up north appreciated the film. However, signing the deal would have meant paying far more money than what we were ever going to make from the deal, so we passed with a heavy heart.

Close Relations Coming Soon to Mexico City!

We are proud to announce that Close Relations is an official selection of the 6th International Jewish Film Festival in Mexico City.
This is particularly close to our hearts, because the Jewish community in Mexico City is where we hail from and we are very excited to screen the short for family and friends and among our very own compatriots.

Back from Palm Springs

And as we say in Spanish, "un éxito": Success.
Close Relations had its American premiere at the very prestigious Palm Springs Short Fest, where it was in the company of a very solid selection of short films.
I felt very lucky to be with other very good shorts in the program called "Family Follies".
I must confess I had never seen my own short on the big screen and I'm happy to report it gains tremendously. The audience laughed in all the right places and was discomfited in all the icky places, which is exactly what we set out to do. It was my first time attending a film festival as a filmmaker and I think I was lucky that it was this one. Well organized, very serious, very interesting.
We met new, fabulous, talented friends and we learned one thing or two about the quirky world of shorts.
And the desert is incredible.

Close Relations at Palm Springs Short Fest!

We just heard the news and could not be happier. This is going to be Close Relations' US Premiere.

The desert! In August! We're so there!

Close Relations is going to Italy!

Close Relations is competing for Best Short Film in the category Women Love Film at the 2008 Salento International Film Festival in Italy.
It is also competing for Best International Short at the Swansea Bay Film Festival in lovely Wales.
Looks like the Europeans are showing the love much more than the home crowd. Hmmm....

Dick Latessa and Annie Meisels in Close Relations. A short film by Yehudit Mam.

The Team Behind Close Relations

CAST

Debbie: Annie Meisels
Uncle: Jacob Dick Latessa

CREW

Written, Directed and Produced by: Yehudit Mam
Producer: Susan Leber
Director of Photography: Manuel Billeter
Production Design/Wardrobe: Marta Marcos
Make Up: Rebecca Lynn Hickey
Sound: Andrejs Prokopenko
Script Supervisor: Laura Marino
Assistant Director: Joshua Freeman
Assistant Camera: Ian McAlpin
Gaffer: Nina Kuhn
Grip: Vance Tucker
Grip: Olivier Bernier
Production Assistant: Matthew Lovett
Production Assistant: Ryan Garrett
Casting: Calleri Casting
Edited by: Yehudit Mam, Beatriz Helena Ramos
Sound Editor: Joe Casalino, Sound and Vision NYC
Colorist: Pedro J. Padilla
Storyboards /Video Capture: Beatriz Helena Ramos,Dancing Diablo Animation Studios
Main Title Designer: Marga Peces
Main Title Animator: Alyna Izquierdo, Dancing Diablo Animation Studios
Costumes Provided by: Larissa Zaharuk, Albright Fashion Library
Camera Rental: Tim Naylor
Catering: 53 Gourmet Deli

Music
Bach: Pastorale in C Minor
Bach: Concerto in D Minor; Adagio
Bach: Italian Concerto; Andante
Arranged and Performed by Jacques Loussier
Courtesy of Telarc International Corporation

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC, used by permission.

Special thanks to the Screen Actors Guild
Filmed on location at the Hilton New York.

Special Thanks:
Joshua Blum at Washington Square Films, Tim Naylor, Larissa Zaharuk at Albright Fashion Library, Joe Casalino at Sound and Vision Studios, Jeff Beckerman and Gustavo Bernal at Bond Edit, James Calleri and Paul Davis at Calleri Casting, Kate Harvey at Bloomsbury Publishing, Krystal Eng at Hilton Hotels, Cheryl Hawkins at Telarc International Corp., Alyna Izquierdo at Dancing Diablo Animation Studio, Juan Pablo Cadaveira, David Lida, Robert McCaskill, Tal McThenia, Marta Marcos, Laura Marino, Jesús Martin, Katya Meyer, Marga Peces, José Antonio Prat, Beatriz Helena Ramos, Ricardo Razuri, Joshua Sánchez.

©2007 Yehudit Mam

Done!

The movie is finished! Coming soon to a film festival near you. Stay tuned...

COMING SOON!