To Close Your Eyes and See Fire

‘To Close Your Eyes and See Fire’ is a feature documentary directed by Nicola von Leffern and Jakob Carl Sauer.

Beirut lies in ruins. After the explosion in the city’s port, collective trauma rises to the surface. How can life succeed after such a tragedy? The film carefully observes the following three years and zooms in on the lives of Aya – a Syrian refugee girl, Selim – an activist and painter, the Aladdin family – mourning a tragic loss, Yasmin – picking up calls at a suicide prevention hotline, and Andrea – who still believes in the city’s spark for change. Meanwhile, a smoldering fire keeps on lingering in the port’s silos like a cautionary tale. Is it time to leave?

The film premiered at the Zurich Film Festival in 2024 and has since been awarded with the Max Ophüls Price for ‘Best Music in a Documentary’ and the ‘Film Critics’ Award Best Documentary’.

ACRE was commissioned to develop the film’s title design and visual identity across all promotional collateral. Our approach centred on the interweaving of the film’s English and Arabic titles into a bespoke typographic lockup – echoing the cultural and linguistic dualities of the region. The typography is both formally restrained and emotionally resonant, sitting in quiet dialogue with Jakob Carl Sauer’s precisely composed cinematography.

From on-screen titles to posters and festival materials, the design honours the tone of the film: poetic, urgent, and deeply empathetic.