The kind of sleep that I had during my own film [Certified Copy] screening in Cannes is different. It's not because of the specificity of the film. I….

Those same people, when they leave the theater, when they look behind the curtains they are curious about their neighbors, they can guess if their ne….

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..

I've often noticed that we are not able to look at what we have in front of us, unless it's inside a frame..

The starting point and the ending point are nothing but two arbitrary choices. You make them as in soccer games, where they chose that it's 90 minute….

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..

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 som….

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 f….

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 int….

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 whethe….

Unfortunately, cinema critics are very few in America, 400-500 people, but there are more critics of Iran..

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 ….

I never reflect or convey that which I have not experienced myself..

When I talk to some of the younger filmmakers, they are so worried about their films that, eventually, this state of being worried reflects itself in….

In real life, when someone's partner calls them, they can tell from the first word their partner says what their mood is..

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..

Maybe more than a teller, I am a story listener. I really enjoy listening to stories. I remember them and keep them in my mind. All of my films are a….

I do believe in [Robert] Bresson's method of creation through omission, not through addition..

This concept that you refer to in Buddhism is something I've been nurtured with through the history of my country for 700, 800 years - Persian poets ….

I think that if you're a digital thinker, you can use a digital camera..

It is a very important film, Life And Nothing More, in that what was filmed was inspired by a journey I had made just three days after an earthquake.….