Zitat des Tages von Abbas Kiarostami:
I spend a lot of time doing carpentry. Sometimes there is nothing that gives me the contentment that sawing a piece of wood does.
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.
I think I really produce my best work in Iran.
I think Woody Allen is Woody Allen, and no matter where he goes he still makes his Woody Allen films.
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.
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.
If you catch me coming out of a film, when I'm emotionally involved, I can tell you at that moment why I like it - but to talk about it years later is not logical to me.
My way of expression is full of complications and mystery because that's my perception of life.
The calling of art is to extract us from our daily reality, to bring us to a hidden truth that's difficult to access - to a level that's not material but spiritual.
I never really learned photography.
I can watch films and say how technically beautiful they are, but I'm not impressed by any technicality.
There are at least two retrospectives of my work each year in some country.
Poetry always runs away from you - it's very difficult to grasp it, and every time you read it, depending on your conditions, you will have a different grasp of it. Whereas with a novel, once you have read it, you have grasped it.
I am a citizen of the world.
I think violence can never be justified.
If you are a businessman or a politician in Iran, you can get a visa as quickly as you ask for it.
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.
Some movies bring out the creativity in you. Every single audience member can become creative in the face of a particular movie. If you happen to like my films, it's because my films provide a bed for you on which you can find your creativity. The Hollywood movies do not provide that for you.
Film is very much a universal and common voice, and we can't limit it to one particular culture.
I never reflect or convey that which I have not experienced myself.
Cinema gives you the opportunity to be both a grandparent and a grandchild whereas in life you cannot be both at the same time.