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I’m not sure that my films show the reality of life in Iran; we show different aspects of life. Iran is a very extensive and expansive place, and sometimes, even for us who live there, some of the realities are very hard to comprehend.

Abbas Kiarostami

I wasn’t searching for a common denominator – I started wondering about the challenge of working in other cultures. What I reached was the sudden acknowledgment of the universal aspect of filmmaking.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Challenges Common Other Cultures
There are certainties in existence, but love is something much harder to define than light and dark, life and death. I think saying you are “like” someone in love sounds right.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Certainties Dark Death Define Existence Harder Life Thinking
Children are very strong and independent characters and can come up with more interesting things than Marlon Brando, and it’s sometimes very difficult to direct or order them to do something.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Character Children Independent Interesting Marlon Brando Strong
Good cinema is what we can believe and bad cinema is what we can’t believe. What you see and believe in is very much what I’m interested in.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Believe Cinema Good Interested
The experience of life teaches us that being like someone in love is more real, because everything is uncertain.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Experience Life Love More Real Teach Uncertain
When I find the character, I try to spend time with them and get to know them very well. Therefore my notes are not from the character that I had in my mind before, but are instead based on the people I’ve met in real life.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Character Know Not People Real Well
My way of expression is full of complications and mystery because that’s my perception of life.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Complication Expression Life Mystery Perception Way
The day we run out of petrol is the day Iran will be free.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Day Free Iran Petrol Run Running
The one-word cinema wasn’t possible for me anymore. I’d hit a wall, a dead end. Therefore I thought I’d turn back.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Cinema Dead End Possible Turn Wall Word
I would be too selfish if I said everyone should see my movies more than once. To say that would mean I’m just marketing my work!
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Marketing Mean Movie Selfish Work
If it does, the fruit will not be as good as it was in its original place. This is a rule of nature. I think if I had left my country, I would be the same as the tree.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Country Fruit Good Nature Original Rule
I really haven’t seen The Report in a long time. I don’t have a copy, but I’ll have to see it again. I think it would be good to put both these men next to each other.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Copy Long Men Report Thinking Time
Anything I’ve not experienced I do not look to for a subject. I have to feel it.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Experienced Feel Look Looks Subject
I thought that choosing a non-professional was a condition for me, because it would allow Juliette to have a less-professional way of acting. It would challenge her performance as a professional actress.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Actress Challenges Acting Juliette Performance Professional Way
The Iranian government as a whole has no relationship with my films. They’re not particularly interested, perhaps this kind of cinema is not very interesting to them.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Cinema Film Government Interesting Iranian Perhaps Relationship
The digital camera has given me total freedom and a different way of filming.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Camera Different Digital Filming Freedom Way

I’m not sure that my films show the reality of life in Iran; we show different aspects of life. Iran is a very extensive and expansive place, and sometimes, even for us who live there, some of the realities are very hard to comprehend.

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I’m not sure that my films show the reality of life in Iran; we show different aspects of life. Iran is a very extensive and expansive place, and sometimes, even for us who live there, some of the realities are very hard to comprehend.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Abbas Kiarostami Quotes