I don't have very complete scripts for my films. I have a general outline and a character in my mind, and I make no notes until I find the character ….

I think the contrast between these two in the professional world of cinema mattered to me. One who has reached the ultimate point of being a star, wh….

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 ….

I am still very surprised that I managed to make that film [Close Up]. When I actually look back on that film, I really feel that I was not the direc….

This was pointed out to me by somebody who referred to the paintings of Rembrandt and his use of light: some elements are highlighted while others ar….

Directors don't always create, they can also destroy with too many demands..

Cinema seats make people lazy. They expect to be given all the information. But for me, question marks are the punctuation of life..

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

I only make notes, I don't write dialogues in full. And the notes are very much based on my knowledge of person..

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….

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..

We are nothing but a link between our culture and what we can actually produce..

The fact of having this very new context, this unheard-of way of working, for me was very pleasant. I didn't feel that I was working, that I had any ….

Film is very much a universal and common voice, and we can't limit it to one particular culture..

The day we run out of petrol is the day Iran will be free..

I don't like reverse-angle shots - I find them very fake and very untruthful to the viewer..

I think I really produce my best work in Iran..

I don't generally derive my stories from novels. I try to turn into film things I have felt or experienced..

Not that I ever felt the necessity of proving that all human beings suffer the same way, feel joy the same way, but it happened on my way - when I ge….

A digital camera does have many advantages and I was a believer that digital video would be a big influence on film-making..

Cinema gives you the opportunity to be both a grandparent and a grandchild whereas in life you cannot be both at the same time..