“It’s not so much a question of whether we’ve shot it through 35mm or digital video; what is important is whether the audience accepts it as real.”

Using non-actors has its own rules and really requires that you allow them to do their own thing.

As film-makers, it is very important for us to find common ground between cultures, and maybe that’s less the case for politicians who benefit more from finding the conflicts and differences between us.

I think that in life, being is nothing but an illusion. If we acknowledge that and accept the fact that we are in between states, that we are moving, and this movement is the nature of our lives

A movie is about human beings, about humanity.

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.

My way of expression is full of complications and mystery because that’s my perception of life.

I think I really produce my best work in Iran.

The only thing that I can do is hold a mirror in front of men and women, in front of the viewer in the theater, to reflect. There is nothing but reflection that I could intend to offer the viewer of the film.

I really enjoy listening to stories. I remember them and keep them in my mind.

This [the earthquake] was a very big influence on me, and the issue of life and death from then on does recur in my films.

A work of art doesn’t exist outside the perception of the audience.

The film [Close Up] made itself, to a large extent. The characters involved were very real, I wasn’t directing the actors so much as being directed by them. So it was a very particular film.

In order to be able to cooperate with a child, you have to come down to below their level in order to communicate with them. Actors are also like children.

I think Woody Allen is Woody Allen, and no matter where he goes he still makes his Woody Allen films.

The digital camera has given me total freedom and a different way of filming.

Therefore, when you see the end result, it’s difficult to see who’s the director, me or them. Ultimately, everything belongs to the actors – we just manage the situation.

I think that in life, being is nothing but an illusion. If we acknowledge that and accept the fact that we are in between states, that we are moving, and this movement is the nature of our lives

Religion works on some people but not on everyone, because it says, ‘Stop thinking and accept what I tell you.’ That’s not valid for people who want to think and reflect.

I go through the same problems all young people go through. Being in this business, I accept that there are positives and negatives but having a strong family base and a belief in God enables me to weather the storms.

I know that you should always say yes to adventures or you’ll lead a very dull life.

But give thanks, at least, that you still have Frost’s poems; and when you feel the need of solitude, retreat to the companionship of moon, water, hills and trees. Retreat, he reminds us, should not be confused with escape. And take these poems along for good luck!

If I were a girl, I’d despair. The supply of good women far exceeds that of the men who deserve them.

Culture, then, is a study of perfection, and perfection which insists on becoming something rather than in having something, in an inward condition of the mind and spirit, not in an outward set of circumstances.

But give thanks, at least, that you still have Frost’s poems; and when you feel the need of solitude, retreat to the companionship of moon, water, hills and trees. Retreat, he reminds us, should not be confused with escape. And take these poems along for good luck!