"To be international, you have to first be local. ... When you take a tree that is rooted in the ground, and transfer …"

"The calling of art is to extract us from our daily reality, to bring us to a hidden truth that's difficult to access …"

"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 j…"

"From my very first movie, what was my concentration, my inspiration, was I didn't want to narrate something, I didn't…"

"Believe me, I am still very surprised that I managed to make that film [Close-Up]. When I actually look back on that …"

"My films have been progressing towards a certain kind of minimalism, even though it was never intended. Elements whic…"

"Kiarostami represents the highest level of artistry in the cinema."

"Kiarostami gave the Iranian cinema the international credibility that it has today. ... But his films were unfortunat…"

"He was one of those rare artists with a special knowledge of the world, put into words by the great Jean Renoir: ‘Rea…"

"Despite my age, I can almost say that I have never put pen to paper without worrying about censorship. The nightmare …"