Closer is an experimental documentary that has at its heart a poignant character study of a 17 year-old lesbian from Newcastle. The film was produced without a script, a mixture of both documentary and fiction film techniques, a brace auto-portrait. In the end emerges not only a remarkable encounter with a young woman but a regional story; a story about sexuality that has broader contexts. One segment is a recreation of Annelise telling her mother about her sexuality for the first time intercut with an interview recounting this memory at age 13. In this sequence we see both the real and the fiction. Annelise describes the event while the film cuts to the camera crew filming the reenactment. Fiction and documentary collide as we question whether what we are seeing is real or manipulated. The camera crew themselves are presented through a second camera which records another viewpoint. The editing combines these shots in a hypnotizing rhythmic montage. Ultimately, we see a touching scene between a mother and her daughter and an astounding call for acceptance. (production notes)