A biography for Abbas Kiarostamihasn’t been written yet.
“A movie is about human beings, about humanity.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Usually when I write a script, I have in mind some real people that I'm writing about, who don't always act in the film afterward.”
“I think violence can never be justified.”
“A good movie is made by an initial burst of energy, the way that, when you are in school, your class exercises are always better than your final projects.”
“I can watch films and say how technically beautiful they are, but I'm not impressed by any technicality.”
“I never reflect or convey that which I have not experienced myself.”
“There are at least two retrospectives of my work each year in some country.”
“From my very first movie, what was my concentration, my inspiration, was I didn't want to narrate something, I didn't want to tell a story. I wanted to show something, I wanted for them to make their own story from what they were seeing.”
“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.”
“I spend a lot of time doing carpentry. Sometimes there is nothing that gives me the contentment that sawing a piece of wood does.”
“I never really learned photography.”
“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!”
“To me, AIDS is an international epidemic and every country can be affected by it. Therefore, it can be discussed on an international level. Unfortunately, AIDS doesn't require a visa.”
“I feel like a tree. A tree doesn't feel a duty to start doing something about the earth from which it comes. A tree just has to bear fruit, and leaves and blossoms. It doesn't feel grateful to the earth.”
“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.”
“I think I really produce my best work in Iran.”
“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.”