Good cinema is what we can believe, and bad cinema is what we can't believe. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Film is very much a universal and common voice, and we can't limit it to one particular culture. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Everybody knows that I am not usually patient enough to actually sit down and watch one of my own films from the… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Unfortunately, cinema critics are very few in America, 400-500 people, but there are more critics of Iran. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
The film [Close Up] made itself, to a large extent. The characters involved were very real, I wasn't directing the actors so… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
If you catch me coming out of a film, when I'm emotionally involved, I can tell you at that moment why I… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Good cinema is what we can believe and bad cinema is what we can't believe. What you see and believe in is… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I think life is so difficult to catch, it's so furtive, that a copy, a film, can in no way catch it… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Therefore, when you see the end result, it's difficult to see who's the director, me or them. Ultimately, everything belongs to the… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I am still very surprised that I managed to make that film [Close Up]. When I actually look back on that film,… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
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… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
It is a very important film, Life And Nothing More, in that what was filmed was inspired by a journey I had… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I prefer the films that put their audience to sleep in the theater. Some films have made me doze off in the… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
People have curiosity, they have intelligence, they have interest in understanding their peers. But producers and directors of cinema have decided that… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I don't ask my students to have studied film or any education in general. What I ask them is to come and… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Whenever people ask me what the story is for my next film, I won't tell and people feel it's because I'm being… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Some movies bring out the creativity in you. Every single audience member can become creative in the face of a particular movie.… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I do believe that a film like Ten could never have been made with a 35mm camera. The first part of the… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I think the contrast between these two in the professional world of cinema mattered to me. One who has reached the ultimate… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I think it was [Jean-Luc] Godard who said that life is nothing but a bad copy of film, but then our ambition… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
The Iranian government as a whole has no relationship with my films. They're not particularly interested, perhaps this kind of cinema is… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I don't generally derive my stories from novels. I try to turn into film things I have felt or experienced. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I didn't just see myself as a film director here [in Life And Nothing More], but also as an observer of people… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Cinema seats make people lazy. They expect to be given all the information. But for me, question marks are the punctuation of… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I would say that no film is apolitical. There are politics in all films. Any film that is anchored in a society,… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Cinema gives you the opportunity to be both a grandparent and a grandchild whereas in life you cannot be both at the… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
There is violence in real life but I would never impose violence in a film just to attract the audience. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Usually when I take my films to festivals, I feel incredibly anxious about them. I wonder how it will be received, how… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
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. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I prefer the countryside to cities. This is also true of my films: I have made more films in rural societies, and… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
Those same people, when they leave the theater, when they look behind the curtains they are curious about their neighbors, they can… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
It was a film that I knew, that I had seen, that I was familiar with, but I wasn't anxious about it… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I saw this French woman, this English man in Italy. It was a film [Certified Copy] I knew well, but I had… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
It seems that film-makers are being divided between those working in digital and those who are not. I think it's not something… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I have somewhat lost my enthusiasm in the last years. Mainly because film students using digital video these days have not really… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
In this type of cinema, whether working with actors or non-actors, as much as you do direct them, if you allow yourself… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
The only thing that I can do is hold a mirror in front of men and women, in front of the viewer… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
I had intended to make another film, called Pocket Money, which was to be about children at a school. I was very… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share Image
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… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
I would say that no film is apolitical. There are politics in all films. Any film that is anchored in a society, any film… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
In real life, when someone's partner calls them, they can tell from the first word their partner says what their mood is. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
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… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
This was pointed out to me by somebody who referred to the paintings of Rembrandt and his use of light: some elements are highlighted… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
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… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
Unfortunately, cinema critics are very few in America, 400-500 people, but there are more critics of Iran. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
Usually when I take my films to festivals, I feel incredibly anxious about them. I wonder how it will be received, how the audience… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
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… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
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… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
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… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
When the film [Certified Copy] was in the Cannes Festival, I realized that the fact of having it shot in a different culture, in… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
Those same people, when they leave the theater, when they look behind the curtains they are curious about their neighbors, they can guess if… — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
There is violence in real life but I would never impose violence in a film just to attract the audience. — Abbas Kiarostami Copy Share
![“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.” quote by Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/e02/abbas-kiarostami-2631_actors_the-film-close-up-made-itself-to-a-large_3127328.jpg)
![“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.” quote by Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/6c9/abbas-kiarostami-2631_audience_i-am-still-very-surprised-that-i-managed_1350509.png)
![“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.” quote by Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/3d6/abbas-kiarostami-2631_ambition_i-think-it-was-jean-luc-godard-who-said_3006459.png)
![“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.” quote by Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/f25/abbas-kiarostami-2631_cinema_i-didn-t-just-see-myself-as-a-film-direc_3031421.png)
![“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].” quote by Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/533/abbas-kiarostami-2631_anxious_it-was-a-film-that-i-knew-that-i-had-see_155328.png)
![“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.” quote by Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/596/abbas-kiarostami-2631_anxiety_i-saw-this-french-woman-this-english-man_1627107.png)
![“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…” quote by Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/f97/abbas-kiarostami-2631_children_i-had-intended-to-make-another-film-call_407453.jpg)
