Abbas Kiarostami Quotes

Abbas Kiarostami was an influential Iranian film director, screenwriter, and photographer. He was known for his poetic and introspective approach to filmmaking, with works such as "Taste of Cherry" and "Close-Up" gaining international acclaim. Kiarostami's films explored themes of life, identity, and the human condition, leaving a significant impact on world cinema.

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!

Film is very much a universal and common voice, an... -Abbas Kiarostami

Film is very much a universal and common voice, and we can't limit it to one particular culture.

A movie is about human beings, about humanity.

Digital photography is, by definition, unfinished. You don't feel that after every 24 or 36 shots you have to change your film - you know you can go on for ever if you want. You can see the result immediately, and find out if your original idea is worth going on with or not, whether it can be corrected, whether it can be improved.

There are at least two retrospectives of my work e... -Abbas Kiarostami

There are at least two retrospectives of my work each year in some country.

A work of art doesn't exist outside the perception... -Abbas Kiarostami

A work of art doesn't exist outside the perception of the audience.

Good cinema is what we can believe, and bad cinema... -Abbas Kiarostami

Good cinema is what we can believe, and bad cinema is what we can't believe.

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 am a citizen of the world.

The world is my workshop. It is not my home.

Discovering the context

This quote expresses the speaker's perspective that the world serves as their workshop or a place of action and creation, but it does not feel like their true home. It implies a sense of detachment or a feeling of not fully belonging to any particular place, emphasizing a more transient or exploratory mindset rather than a strong attachment to a specific location.

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.

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.

Cinema gives you the opportunity to be both a grandparent and a grandchild whereas in life you cannot be both at the same time.

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.

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.

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.

I never reflect or convey that which I have not ex... -Abbas Kiarostami

I never reflect or convey that which I have not experienced myself.

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.

In the total darkness, poetry is still there, and ... -Abbas Kiarostami

In the total darkness, poetry is still there, and it is there for you.

Discovering the context

This quote suggests that even in the most challenging or difficult times, poetry remains accessible and available as a source of solace, inspiration, or expression, emphasizing its enduring presence and relevance in all circumstances.

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.

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.

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 secretive or something, but it's actually because I'm ashamed to sum up a film in three sentences.

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 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.

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.