Filmen fortæller historien om den virkelige historie om en mand, der gav sig ud for at være filminstruktøren Mohsen Makhmalbaf, og snød en uskyldig familie til at tro, at de skulle være stjerner i hans nye film. I Close-up ser man de i fupnummeret involverede personer, som her spiller sig selv. Kunstner Zachary Oberzans forestilling Great Pretender præsenteret på dette års SPOR festival er stærkt inspireret af Kiarostamis film. In English: The film tells the story of the real life trial of a man who impersonated film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, conning a family into believing they would star in his new film. It features the people involved, acting as themselves. Artist Zachary Oberzans performance The Great Pretender presented at this years festival is highly inspired by Kiarostamis movie.