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I have received the digital camera as a blessing. It has really changed my life as a filmmaker, because I don’t use my camera anymore as a camera. I don’t feel it as a camera.

Abbas Kiarostami

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

Art Audience Exist Outside Perception Work
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
Whether you consider me a master filmmaker or not, I do it with my intuition and my vision, my experience as a storyteller.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Consider Filmmaker Intuition Master Storyteller Vision
When you take a tree that is rooted in the ground, and transfer it from one place to another, the tree will no longer bear fruit.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Another Bear Country Fruit Ground Place Rooted Thinking Transfer Tree
I have somewhat lost my enthusiasm in the last years. Mainly because film students using digital video these days have not really produced anything which is more than superficial or simplistic; so I have my doubts.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Action Camera Digital Doubt Light Produces Proud Video Year
If we’re not going to take full advantage of digital, then 35mm is a better medium. Especially for shooting dramas – I have no problem with 35mm.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Advantage Digital Drama Especially Shooting Video
In my films, I try to give people as little information as possible, which is still much more than what they get in real life. I feel that they should be grateful for the little bit of information I give them.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Film Grateful Information People Possible Real
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
Directors don’t always create, they can also destroy with too many demands.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Always Create Demand Destroy Director
I only make notes, I don’t write dialogues in full. And the notes are very much based on my knowledge of person.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Based Dialogue Knowledge Note Person Writing
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
I think Woody Allen is Woody Allen, and no matter where he goes he still makes his Woody Allen films.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Allen Film Make Matter Thinking Woody
I thought that I had been asked every kind of question possible.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Asked Kind Possible Question
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
I think being someone in love is so hard to define, so temporary, because retrospectively we often deny the state in which we were in love.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Complication Deny Expression Life Perception Thinking
In my experience as a director, I think there is obviously something of the way men – maybe that’s a common point with Shirin – the way men see women in the film, and the way these two characters see each other.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Character Director Experience Men Shirin Thinking
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.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Accept Audience Digital Important Question Real Shot Video
I really think that I don’t mind people sleeping during my films, because I know that some very good films might prepare you for sleeping or falling asleep or snoozing. It’s not to be taken badly at all.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Digital Fall Film Good Prepare Sleep Taken
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
Having an international voice is not really about whether we speak Persian or any other language.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

International Language Persian Speak Voice
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
In real life, when someone’s partner calls them, they can tell from the first word their partner says what their mood is.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

First Life Mood Partner Real Word
Despite the great advantages of digital video and the great ease of using the medium, still those who use it have first to understand the sensitivities of how to best use the medium.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Despite Ease Great Understand Use Video
I was mentioning with the digital camera, maybe this new fashion of filmmaking gives a closer look of what life may be like. But it’s still nothing but a copy.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Camera Closer Digital Fashion Film Giving Making Nothing
Film is very much a universal and common voice, and we can’t limit it to one particular culture.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Common Culture Film Limit Universal Voice
There were years when Hitchcock was like a master to me, but now I think he’s so artificial. I can watch films and say how technically beautiful they are, but I’m not impressed by any technicality.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Artificial Beautiful Hitchcock Master Saw Technically Thinking Year
Cinema gives you the opportunity to be both a grandparent and a grandchild whereas in life you cannot be both at the same time.
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

Cinema Giving Grandchildren Lesson Life Opportunity

I have received the digital camera as a blessing. It has really changed my life as a filmmaker, because I don’t use my camera anymore as a camera. I don’t feel it as a camera.

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I have received the digital camera as a blessing. It has really changed my life as a filmmaker, because I don’t use my camera anymore as a camera. I don’t feel it as a camera.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Abbas Kiarostami Quotes