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To be international, you have to first be local. ... 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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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In order to be universal, you have to be rooted in your own culture.
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A work of art doesn't exist outside the perception of the audience.
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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.
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I never really learned photography.
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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.
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Cinema gives you the opportunity to be both a grandparent and a grandchild whereas in life you cannot be both at the same time.
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There is violence in real life but I would never impose violence in a film just to attract the audience.
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I never reflect or convey that which I have not experienced myself.
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Cinema seats make people lazy. They expect to be given all the information. But for me, question marks are the punctuation of life.
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I film normal-life subjects in natural settings that some people would consider uncinematic. But what I want to show is nature itself, as the truth of life.
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The day we run out of petrol is the day Iran will be free.
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I can watch films and say how technically beautiful they are, but I'm not impressed by any technicality.
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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.
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I spend a lot of time doing carpentry. Sometimes there is nothing that gives me the contentment that sawing a piece of wood does.
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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.
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In the total darkness, poetry is still there, and it is there for you.
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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.
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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.
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I think Woody Allen is Woody Allen, and no matter where he goes he still makes his Woody Allen films.
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If you are a businessman or a politician in Iran, you can get a visa as quickly as you ask for it.