Background Image
...
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
...
Please Wait....
Translating....

It's Not So Much

Abbas Kiarostami
...
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.

Understanding the Quote: "it's not so much a question of whether we've shot it through..."

This quote by Abbas Kiarostami reflects deeply on the theme of real. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Real, Important, Video, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Abbas Kiarostami interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami is celebrated for insightful thoughts on real and important. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

Views: 4
Topic
Real
Important
Video
More From Abbas Kiarostami
I Think Violence Can Never Be Justified. At The Same Time, Nobody’s Culture Or Beliefs Should Be Insulted, That’s Not Something I Can Accept Either. But I Cannot Justify Or Accept Any Violence At All.
Thinking
Violence
Justified
I Think It Was [jean-luc] Godard Who Said That Life Is Nothing But A Bad Copy Of Film, But Then Our Ambition Must Be To Make Better Films And Better Shapes Of Forms That Are Given In Life.
Ambition
Thinking
Shapes
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.
Wall
Cinema
Dead Ends
I Spend A Lot Of Time Doing Carpentry. Sometimes There Is Nothing That Gives Me The Contentment That Sawing A Piece Of Wood Does.
Giving
Contentment
Doe
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.
Children
Order
Actors
Good Cinema Is What We Can Believe And Bad Cinema Is What We Can't Believe. What You See And Believe In Is Very Much What I'm Interested In.
Believe
Cinema
As Long As I Take The Responsibility Of The Choice, I Have To Make The Choice That Is As Right As Possible.
Responsibility
Long
Choices
I Don't Like Reverse-angle Shots - I Find Them Very Fake And Very Untruthful To The Viewer.
Fake
Angle
Shots
I Do Believe In [robert] Bresson's Method Of Creation Through Omission, Not Through Addition.
Believe
Omission
Creation
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.
People
Silence
Different
I Never Intended To Write Poems, Nor To Be A Photographer, Nor To Be A Film-maker. I Just Took Many, Many Pictures And I Would Put Them In An Album, And Then Some Years Later I Decided To Show Them And Suddenly I Was Called A Photographer. Same Thing With My Poetry. They're Notes That I'd Written In A Book And It May Be Considered Poetry.
Book
Writing
Years
I Prefer The Films That Put Their Audience To Sleep In The Theater. Some Films Have Made Me Doze Off In The Theater, But The Same Films Have Made Me Stay Up At Night, Wake Up Thinking About Them In The Morning, And Keep On Thinking About Them For Weeks.
Morning
Sleep
Night
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. I Feel It As A Friend, As Something That Doesn't Make An Impression On People, That Doesn't Make Them Feel Uncomfortable, And That Is Completely Forgotten In My Way Of Approaching Life And People And Film.
Blessing
People
Cameras
I Thought That Choosing A Non-professional Was A Condition For Me, Because It Would Allow Juliette To Have A Less-professional Way Of Acting. It Would Challenge Her Performance As A Professional Actress.
Challenges
Acting
Way
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.
Love Is
Thinking
Deny
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.
Real
Important
Video
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 Director But Instead Just A Member Of The Audience.
Directors
Looks
Film
My Way Of Expression Is Full Of Complications And Mystery Because That's My Perception Of Life.
Expression
Perception
Way
Close-up Has Affected Later Films That I've Made.
Film
Made
Affected
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 Get Close To These People, Just By The Simple Intervention Of Translation I Can Actually Reach Them And Ask Them Something, And Their Reaction Is As I Expected. I See That The Relationship Goes So Smoothly, And I Realize That Cultural Languages And Specificities Are Nothing But Simple Obstacles That You Can Easily Overcome. It's Obvious That Human Beings Are The Same Wherever They Are.
Simple
People
Joy
Of The Hundreds Of Points To Enter And Exit That Are Offered To Me, I Have To Choose The One That I Feel Is The Least Wrong, The Least Fake. It Is Fake, It Is A Moment That I Choose To Erupt The Story, But I Make It As Smooth As I Can. What Enables Me To Do It Is The Skill Of Filmmaking.
Skills
Fake
Exit
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.
Video
Use
Ease
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. We Don't Look At Each Other, 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. Silence Doesn't Seem Heavy Or Difficult. Nobody Serves Anybody. And Many Other Aspects. One Most Important Thing Is That It Transports Us From One Place To Another.
Home
Views
Car
I Believe There's Only Good Cinema And Bad Cinema.
Believe
Cinema
I Believe
I Really Enjoy Listening To Stories. I Remember Them And Keep Them In My Mind.
Listening
Mind
Stories
Using Non-actors Has Its Own Rules And Really Requires That You Allow Them To Do Their Own Thing.
Actors
Cinema Gives You The Opportunity To Be Both A Grandparent And A Grandchild Whereas In Life You Cannot Be Both At The Same Time.
Grandchildren
Opportunity
Giving
What I Am Trying To Say Is That It Is Not Without Any Value. The Value Of Copies Is That They Can Direct Us Towards The Original. I Was Recently At The Louvre Museum And I Was Filming People Who Were Viewing The Mona Lisa. I Noticed The Number Of Ordinary People, Astonished, Mouths Agape, Standing Still For Long Stretches Looking At The Work, And I Wondered, "where Does This Come From? Are These People All Art Connoisseurs?" They Are Like Me; Through The Years, We've Seen This Work In Our Schoolbooks Or Art History Books, But When We Stand Before The Original, We Hold Our Breath.
Art
Book
Years
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 Minutes, Not Less And Not More. But The Choices Are The Responsibility Of The Filmmaker. You Have To Choose To Join The Story At An Arbitrary Point, And You Leave It At An Arbitrary Point.
Soccer
Responsibility
Games
I Did Not Have A Script [of Close Up]. I Made Notes In The Evenings And We Filmed During The Day Over 40 Days.i Didn't Sleep A Wink For Those 40 Nights. I Have A Picture From The End Of The Shoot, And In It I Have Lost All My Hair.
Sleep
Night
Hair
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.
Fashion
Giving
Digital
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 And Helps The Final Work. Whereas, With Projects That Are Meticulously Planned, You Look At The End Result And It Is Full Of Emptiness.
Finals
Looks
Emptiness
Children Are Very Strong And Independent Characters And Can Come Up With More Interesting Things Than Marlon Brando, And It's Sometimes Very Difficult To Direct Or Order Them To Do Something.
Strong
Children
Character
I Thought That I Had Been Asked Every Kind Of Question Possible.
Kind
The Day We Run Out Of Petrol Is The Day Iran Will Be Free.
Running
Iran
Petrol
I Think Life Is So Difficult To Catch, It's So Furtive, That A Copy, A Film, Can In No Way Catch It And Represent It.
Thinking
Way
Life Is
I Think Woody Allen Is Woody Allen, And No Matter Where He Goes He Still Makes His Woody Allen Films.
Thinking
Matter
Film
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.
Real
Character
Actors
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.
Men
Thinking
Long
Cinema Seats Make People Lazy. They Expect To Be Given All The Information. But For Me, Question Marks Are The Punctuation Of Life.
People
Lazy
Cinema
Directors Don't Always Create, They Can Also Destroy With Too Many Demands.
Directors
Demand
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.
Reflection
Men
Mirrors
It's True That The Best Way Of Knowing Yourself Is To Put Yourself Into Different Situations.
Knowing
Different
Way
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 Sometimes, Even For Us Who Live There, Some Of The Realities Are Very Hard To Comprehend.
Reality
Iran
Different
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.
Government
Issues
Important
A Digital Camera Does Have Many Advantages And I Was A Believer That Digital Video Would Be A Big Influence On Film-making.
Cameras
Doe
Would Be
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. It Was Because Of My Relationship As An Author To This Film. Usually When I Take My Films To Festivals, I Feel Incredibly Anxious About Them. I Wonder How It Will Be Received, How The Audience Will React. I Feel Deeply Responsible For Them. Whereas This Time, I Didn't Have That Responsibility On My Shoulders.
Sleep
Responsibility
Different
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!
Selfish
Mean
Marketing
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, And We Stop Having Aspirations For Being In A Definite State, We Know Life Better And Are Able To Enjoy It Better.
Moving
Thinking
Able
When I Met Akira Kurosawa In Japan, One Question He Asked Me Was, "how Did You Actually Make The Children Act The Way They Do? I Do Have Children In My Films But I Find That I Reduce And Reduce Their Presence Until I Have To Get Rid Of Them Because There's No Way That I Can Direct Them." My Own Thought Is That One Is Very Grand, Like An Emperor On A Horse, And It's Very Hard For A Child To Relate To That. 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.
Children
Japan
Way
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 And Philosophers Haven't Said Anything Different With Regard To Experiencing Life In The Moment, As Opposed To The Belief Of Permanence.
Country
Buddhism
Years
I Think I'm No Different To My Friends Who Are Doctors Or Businessmen Or Architects - We All Started Watching Films Of The Golden Age Together. But Whether I'm Making Films Or Writing Poetry Or Doing Photography, It's Very Much Rooted In My Sense Of Unease. And That's Really Where Everything Goes Back To.
Photography
Writing
Thinking
I Had Intended To Make Another Film, Called Pocket Money, Which Was To Be About Children At A School. I Was Very Much Intrigued By The Story [of Close Up] - It Came Into My Dreams And I Was Very Much Influenced By It. So I Called My Producer And Asked That We Put Aside Pocket Money And Start Something Else, And He Agreed.
Dream
Children
School
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.
Drama
Shooting
Digital
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.
Government
Interesting
Cinema
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. Silence Doesn't Seem Heavy Or Difficult.
Views
Car
Silence
I Remember When I Came Out Of An Exam Thinking I Had Done Well And Then I Had A Clue That Maybe One Answer Was Wrong, I Remembered That I Rather Stop Knowing, Stop Thinking About It, Appreciating Life Instead. So First, It Was Just A Memory. But Then I Realized That In Life, It's A Much More General Sentiment - That Instead Of Waiting For Other People's Judgment, I'd Rather Focus On My Own Feelings, That Everything Is Fine. To Go On With My Life Rather Than Anticipating Other People's Judgements That Might Be Negative.
Memories
Thinking
Appreciate
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.
Years
Doubt
Video
There Are Certainties In Existence, But Love Is Something Much Harder To Define Than Light And Dark, Life And Death. I Think Saying You Are "like" Someone In Love Sounds Right.
Dark
Love Is
Thinking
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. And I Speak Not Only Of The Film Itself But Also Of The Experience Of Being In That Place, Where Only Three Days Before 50,000 People Had Died.
Journey
Earthquakes
People
Unfortunately, Cinema Critics Are Very Few In America, 400-500 People, But There Are More Critics Of Iran.
Iran
America
People
The Experience Of Life Teaches Us That Being Like Someone In Love Is More Real, Because Everything Is Uncertain.
Real
Love Is
Uncertain
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. And If It Does, The Fruit Will Not Be As Good As It Was In Its Original Place. This Is A Rule Of Nature. I Think If I Had Left My Country, I Would Be The Same As The Tree.
Country
Thinking
Tree
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.
Fall
Taken
Sleep
It Was A Film That I Knew, That I Had Seen, That I Was Familiar With, But I Wasn't Anxious About It At Any Point During The Screening. I Snoozed Twice, And This Is Something I Couldn't Have Imagined That I Would Feel Detached, As I Did With This Film [certified Copy].
Film
Anxious
Familiar
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.
Directors
Actors
Ends
I Didn't Just See Myself As A Film Director Here [in Life And Nothing More], But Also As An Observer Of People Who Had Been Condemned To Death.
People
Directors
Film
I Never Reflect Or Convey That Which I Have Not Experienced Myself.
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.
Earthquakes
Issues
Life And Death
I Can Only Display What I've Been Nurtured With, Which Is This Worldview Which Has Become My View. If I Displayed Anything Different From It In My Work, I Wouldn't Deserve This Heritage.
Views
Different
Heritage
I Saw This French Woman, This English Man In Italy. It Was A Film [certified Copy] I Knew Well, But I Had Already Seen It, And I Was Familiar With It, And I Had No Feeling Of Anxiety Or Responsibility Toward It.
Responsibility
Men
Anxiety
I Never Really Learned Photography.
Photography
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.
Real
Grateful
People
When I'm In The Process Of Making A Movie I'm Not Thinking About The Finished Result, And Whether People Have To See It Once Or More Than Once, And What The Reaction To It Will Be. I Just Make It, And Then I Live With The Consequences, Some Of Which May Not Be As Pleasant As I'd Like! I Know One Thing, However. Many Viewers May Come Out Of The Theater Not Satisfied, But They Won't Be Able To Forget The Movie. I Know They'll Be Talking About It During Their Next Dinner. I Want Them To Be A Little Restless About My Movies, And Keep Trying To Find Something In Them.
Thinking
Talking
People
When I Find The Character, I Try To Spend Time With Them And Get To Know Them Very Well. Therefore My Notes Are Not From The Character That I Had In My Mind Before, But Are Instead Based On The People I've Met In Real Life.
Real
Character
People
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. I Didn't Relate To It As Much. I Remember Avoiding It During The Shooting Rather Than Paying Attention To It.
Cameras
Attention
Shooting
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 Kind Of Burden To Wear, To Carry. I Really Was Very Happy And Very Lighthearted During The Whole Process Of Making The Film [certified Copy], Of Shooting It.
Shooting
Way
Facts
It's Very True That Non-actors Feel More Comfortable In Front Of A Digital Camera, Without The Lights And The Large Crowd Around Them, And We Arrive At Much More Intimate Moments With Them.
Light
Intimate Moments
Cameras
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.
Progress
Elements
Kind
In My Opinion The Man Looks At The Relationship In A More Bitter Fashion And The Woman Still Holds Great Hopes.
Fashion
Men
Looks
Having An International Voice Is Not Really About Whether We Speak Persian Or Any Other Language.
Voice
Language
Speak
I Think That If You're A Digital Thinker, You Can Use A Digital Camera.
Thinking
Cameras
Use
My Last Experience Of Film-making Was Tickets, A Three-episode Film In Italy, The Third Of Which Is Directed By Myself. It's Not For Me To Judge Whether It's A Good Film Or A Bad Film, But What I Could Say Is That Nobody Had A Cultural Or Linguistic Issue With What Was Produced.
Issues
Judging
Three
A Work Of Art Doesn't Exist Outside The Perception Of The Audience.
Art
Perception
Works Of Art
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, Who Knows How To Do Everything Very Well, Facing Another Person Who Would Throughout The Making Of The Film Transfer His Anxiety To Both Of Us, To Me And To Juliette, As To Whether Or Not He Would Be Capable Of Fulfilling His Role. This In Itself Created A Challenge That Was Actually Very Good For Me, Since I Hadn't Ever Counterposed Two Such Performers Before, Creating That Challenge Between Someone Who Knows Their Part And Someone Who Doesn't.
Stars
Thinking
Two
Anything I've Not Experienced I Do Not Look To For A Subject. I Have To Feel It.
Looks
Feels
Subjects
My Car Is 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.
Home
Car
Office
I Think, Just As Footballers Play Better At Home, Maybe Film-makers, Too, Create Better At Home, Even Though The Rules Of Football Are The Same Wherever You Go.
Football
Home
Thinking
As Soon As People Enter A Theater They Must Become Moron Consumers Who Must Be Fed Information.
People
Information
Theater
A Movie Is About Human Beings, About Humanity.
Humanity
Humans
Human Beings
If You Are A Businessman Or A Politician In Iran, You Can Get A Visa As Quickly As You Ask For It.
Iran
Politician
Businessman
In Order To Be Universal, You Have To Be Rooted In Your Own Culture.
Order
Culture
Universal
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 Neighbors Are Siblings Or A Couple, How Old They Are, What Their Occupation Is. They Are Curious About Each Other And They Can Understand Each Other Without Being Fed Information. Why Should It Be Different In Cinema?
Couple
Sibling
People
In Real Life, When Someone's Partner Calls Them, They Can Tell From The First Word Their Partner Says What Their Mood Is.
Real
Firsts
Mood
I Wasn't Searching For A Common Denominator - I Started Wondering About The Challenge Of Working In Other Cultures. What I Reached Was The Sudden Acknowledgment Of The Universal Aspect Of Filmmaking.
Other Cultures
Challenges
Common
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 Are Obscured Or Even Pushed Back Into The Dark. And It's Something That We Do - We Bring Out Elements That We Want To Emphasise.
Dark
Light
Use
In The Total Darkness, Poetry Is Still There, And It Is There For You.
Darkness
Poetry Is
Stills
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.
Car
Sitting
Shooting
Film Is Very Much A Universal And Common Voice, And We Can't Limit It To One Particular Culture.
Voice
Culture
Limits
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.
Differences
Important
Culture
When We Start Shooting I Don't Have Rehearsals With Characters At All. So, Rather Than Pulling Them Towards Myself, I Travel Closer To Them; It's Very Much Closer To The Real Person Than Anything I Try To Create. So I Give Them Something But I Also Take From Them.
Real
Character
Giving
I Prefer The Countryside To Cities. This Is Also True Of My Films: I Have Made More Films In Rural Societies, And Villages, Than In Towns.
Cities
Village
Towns
The Digital Camera Has Given Me Total Freedom And A Different Way Of Filming.
Cameras
Different
Way
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.
Character
Men
Thinking
I'm Still Very Grateful To Digital Cameras In General, But I Didn't Have This Feeling With The Red One.
Grateful
Feelings
Cameras
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 Who's In My Mind In Reality.
Character
Reality
Mind
I Do Believe That A Film Like Ten Could Never Have Been Made With A 35mm Camera. The First Part Of The Film Lasts 17 Minutes, And By The End Of That Part, The Kid Has Totally Forgotten The Camera.
Believe
Kids
Cameras
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.
Looks
Able
Fronts
I Do Think That We Are Sometimes, As Directors, Guilty Of Portraying Or Asking Our Actors To Behave In Certain Ways That Are Perhaps Not Very Morally Acceptable. I'm Not The Only One.
Thinking
Directors
Asking
Whether You Consider Me A Master Filmmaker Or Not, I Do It With My Intuition And My Vision, My Experience As A Storyteller.
Intuition
Vision
Masters
It Seems That Film-makers Are Being Divided Between Those Working In Digital And Those Who Are Not. I Think It's Not Something Predetermined - It All Depends On What Project We Have In Mind, And On That Basis We Choose The Medium.
Thinking
Mind
Digital
I Often Say To My Students In Workshops That If They Are Trying To Find Literary Inspiration, They Should Not Go And Read Novels, Because Novels Are More Appropriate For Series. Where As They Should Read Short Stories - That's The Right Format For You To Be Able To Actually Display The Narrative In A Film.
Inspiration
Trying
Students
I Don't Generally Derive My Stories From Novels. I Try To Turn Into Film Things I Have Felt Or Experienced.
Trying
Stories
Film
This Kind Of Directing, I Think, Is Very Similar To Being A Football Coach. You Prepare Your Players And Place Them In The Right Places, But Once The Game Is On, There's Nothing Much You Can Do - You Can Smoke A Cigarette Or Get Nervous, But You Can't Do Much.
Football
Player
Thinking
I Think I Really Produce My Best Work In Iran.
Thinking
Iran
Produce
If I Do Continue To Have The Opportunity To Work In Iran, That's Very Much What I'd Prefer To Do.
Opportunity
Iran
Ifs
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 Collection Of Small Stories That Have Been Told To Me.
Listening
Mind
Remember
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.
Good Movie
Mind
Fiction
I Don't Ask My Students To Have Studied Film Or Any Education In General. What I Ask Them Is To Come And Sit And Tell Me A Story, And The Way They Choose It And Tell It, For Me, The Best Criteria For Whether They Are Right For Making Films. There's Nothing More Important Than Being Able To Tell Your Story Orally.
Important
Students
Film
Everybody Knows That I Am Not Usually Patient Enough To Actually Sit Down And Watch One Of My Own Films From The Beginning To The End - I Never Do.
Watches
Down And
Patient
All The Different Nations In The World, Despite Their Differences Of Appearance And Religion And Language And Way Of Life, Still Have One Thing In Common, And That Is What's Inside Of All Of Us. If We X-rayed The Insides Of Different Human Beings, We Wouldn't Be Able To Tell From Those X-rays What The Person's Language Or Background Or Race Is.
Race
Differences
Rays
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.
Beautiful
Thinking
Years
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.
Thinking
People
Want
When The Film [certified Copy] Was In The Cannes Festival, I Realized That The Fact Of Having It Shot In A Different Culture, In A Different Language, In A Different Setting, That Wasn't Mine And That I Didn't Belong To, Gave Me A Totally Different Relationship To The Film. When I Was Sitting In The Audience During The Official Screening In Cannes, I Didn't Feel That It Was My Film.
Different
Culture
Sitting
We Are Nothing But A Link Between Our Culture And What We Can Actually Produce.
Culture
Links
Produce
I Only Make Notes, I Don't Write Dialogues In Full. And The Notes Are Very Much Based On My Knowledge Of Person.
Writing
Notes
Dialogue
Close-up Is A Very Particular Film In My Oeuvre. It's A Film That Was Made In A Very Particular Way; Mainly Because I Didn't Really Have The Time To Think About How To Go About Making The Film.
Thinking
Way
Film
People Have Curiosity, They Have Intelligence, They Have Interest In Understanding Their Peers. But Producers And Directors Of Cinema Have Decided That The Seats In The Theaters Have Been Made To Transform People's Minds To Lazy Minds.
People
Understanding
Curiosity
I Have No Advice For Anyone On How To Live.
Advice
In This Type Of Cinema, Whether Working With Actors Or Non-actors, As Much As You Do Direct Them, If You Allow Yourself To Be Directed By Them, Then The End Result Will Be Much More Pleasing. The Real And Individual Strengths Of The Actors Is Allowed To Be Expressed And Is Something That Does Affect The Audience Very Deeply.
Real
Individual Strength
Doe
Trending Author
John Garamendi
Ron Jaworski
Jeffery Deaver
Tom Shadyac
Sidney Altman
Vannevar Bush
Category
Information