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In my mind, there isn’t as much of a distinction between documentary and fiction as there is between a good movie and a bad one.

Abbas Kiarostami

I don’t like reverse-angle shots – I find them very fake and very untruthful to the viewer.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Angle Fake Reverse Shot Untruthful
You’ve noticed that same joke told by two different people, once works, and the other time doesn’t, simply because how the person edits it. The silences, the pauses, what they neglect, what they emphasize – all of this matters.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Different Edit Joke Notice People Person Silence Time
My car’s my best friend. My office. My home. My location. I have a very intimate sense when I am in a car with someone next to me. We’re in the most comfortable seats because we’re not facing each other, but sitting side by side.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Best Car Friend Home Intimate Location Sense View
A work of art doesn’t exist outside the perception of the audience.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Art Audience Exist Outside Perception Work
Cinema seats make people lazy. They expect to be given all the information. But for me, question marks are the punctuation of life.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Cinema Lazy Life People Punctuation Seat
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
The day we run out of petrol is the day Iran will be free.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Day Free Iran Petrol Run Running
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
With the RED, I didn’t have this impression at all. I felt that it was as heavy as a film camera. Having this great crew, with the DP and his assistants, I found it making as much of an impression as a very big film camera.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Assistant Attention Camera DP Film heavy Impression Red Shooting
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.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Actors End Belong Difficult Director Film Ultimately
We don’t look at each other [in the car], but instead do so only when we want to. We’re allowed to look around without appearing rude. We have a big screen in front of us and side views.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Appearing Around Car Look Rude Silence View
My films have been progressing towards a certain kind of minimalism, even though it was never intended. Elements which can be eliminated have been eliminated.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Element Eliminated Film Kind Minimalism Progress Progressive
I thought that I had been asked every kind of question possible.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Asked Kind Possible Question
While shooting Ten I was sitting in the backseat, but I didn’t interfere. Sometimes, I was following in another car, so I was not even present on the “set”, because I thought they would work better in my absence.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Backseat Car Interfere Present Shooting Sitting Ten
The [Iranian] government grapples with more important issues and we can maybe say that these films don’t really exist for them. It’s not about whether they like it or don’t; it’s just not very important to them.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Exist Government Grapple Important Issue Issues
I spend a lot of time doing carpentry. Sometimes there is nothing that gives me the contentment that sawing a piece of wood does.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Carpentry Contentment Doe Giving Spend Wood

In my mind, there isn’t as much of a distinction between documentary and fiction as there is between a good movie and a bad one.

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In my mind, there isn’t as much of a distinction between documentary and fiction as there is between a good movie and a bad one.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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