Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Sometimes we feel like life is like theater, really.
When I came to know theater, drama became valuable to me.
The bigger confrontation is the one an individual has with itself.
One must never tell a child what it is they should display acting.
I feel its important to talk about the complex issues affecting us.
I feel it's important to talk about the complex issues affecting us.
I see screenwriting as a bit like a math equation which I have to solve.
I try very hard to write in a very orderly and continual disciplined manner.
I think every human being in the world appreciates being encouraged and acknowledged.
The fact is I'm not making a film in order to draw pictures or make images about Iran.
I would have had the same narrative, regardless of the atmosphere and the restrictions.
When we talk about self-confrontations, we are speaking about moral issues rather than social issues.
It's very difficult to talk about religion in Iran because religion has gotten so mixed up with politics.
It was important to me to make a film where I don't show the past but where the spectators can see the past.
I'm always careful about the thing I'm writing to make sure a viewer can imagine it happening to themselves.
I gained a great deal from the period during which I worked in theater and I value those things a great deal.
It's not some big event that creates the drama, it's the little things of everyday life that bring about that drama.
I think it's insulting to an audience to make them sit and watch a film and then give them a message in one sentence.
One of the biggest blessings in my life is that I have a very wonderful family, a lovely wife and two lovely daughters.
For me, character comes from a specific condition or situation. I cannot really define a character outside that situation.
Poetry, especially traditional Iranian poetry, is very good at looking at things from a number of different angles simultaneously.
The process of writing is like creating a game of dominoes: The first domino creates the second incident, and so forth until the end.
I think that theater is the closest medium to music. It's very pure. It's for the elite of the society. It's not for everyone in the society.
The goal in some types of yoga is to try and reconcile all the characters within a person, and, in fact, the word 'yoga' comes from the word 'union.'
It's the governments that create the problems. People are fun; people get along. People in Iran really love Americans. There is no problem between us.
I like storytelling movies and more than that I like historical movies; and I think someday I'll definitely make a movie about the past 50 years history.
For the Americans, it is not attractive to hear what the similarities are between them and the Iranian people. It is attractive to hear how different the Iranians are.
I really think that people who want to think more serious have to go and watch theater. Theater is a very sterilized art form. Not as much as music, but very close to music.
In my opinion when you speak about relationships between people, you are actually talking about everything in their world because everything is contained in that relationship.
I prefer to stay in my country. But this doesn't mean if someone does want to leave Iran, I think they've done something wrong - the desire to leave is completely understandable.
When I decide to write a story, I don't think too much about what I want it to be, I just let things come naturally and this is how it turns out. It's just how my subconscious works.
Whenever I write a part, I think there's this person somewhere in the world that this part is specifically for and all I have to do is go searching to find that particular individual.
Whenever I write a part, I think there's this person somewhere in the world that this part is specifically for, and all I have to do is go searching to find that particular individual.
I like storytelling, and for storytelling you need a drama. And for there to be drama, you need twists, and by twists I mean the ability to constantly change the trajectory of the story.
I can't make pronouncements about the entirety of Iranian cinema, because there's such a great number of filmmakers and because of the diversity of points of view and filmmaking attitudes.
Is there one specific source that determines correct morality and everybody should follow that? Or should individuals come up with following that source or not depending on their situation?
In most cultures, men represent tradition and women represent change and future. Women, because of their ability to give birth, are more connected to future. Men tend to keep the status quo.
Doing interviews about my films really bothers me sometimes, because I have to speak directly and clearly about things I've intended to keep ambiguous, and in a way, I feel like I'm betraying my film.
There are those who simply want to live their lives, and feel they cannot live the way they want to in Iran. Others are ideologically motivated: They will stay no matter what and try to change things.
Unless you're trying to make a movie on the sly, there's no way to get around this. If you want to use public spaces, film on the streets, have the cooperation of the police, you have to have a permit.
The success of one film may convince the filmmaker to try repeat his successes and get into a competition with himself. One cannot dwell on periodic successes. You have to look at it as a temporary, passing thing.
Art removes boundaries and makes the world brighter. It is the common language for people all over the world. But politics are the opposite completely. Politicians, their very meaning is based on the lines they draw.
I feel it’s important to talk about the complex issues affecting us. And these are complex issues. I think it’s insulting to an audience to make them sit and watch a film and then give them a message in one sentence.
Each person makes their own choice, but my spirit is meant to stay in Iran, especially with the work that I do, and with the emotional connection I have with the country - with all its difficulties, this is why I stay.
There is no privilege in restriction. In other words, I disagree with people who say restriction makes you more creative. I think that's a misleading slogan. I might have been more creative without them than with them.
If you give an answer to your viewer, your film will simply finish in the movie theatre. But when you pose questions, your film actually begins after people watch it. In fact, your film will continue inside the viewer.
I don't have a problem if someone else were to say that one of my characters is a good one and another one is not and is a bad one. I try myself not to have any judgment towards my characters, but certainly the audience might.
Classical tragedy was the war between good and evil. We wanted evil to be defeated and good to be victorious. But the battle in modern tragedy is between good and good. And no matter which side wins, we'll still be heartbroken.
I pay lots of homages. I wanted to pay tribute to a leading Iranian writer, Gholam - Hossein Sa'edi, who is buried in Paris - he is an Iranian Arthur Miller. He is of a similar stature, and his work is similar to that of Arthur Miller.
We have the wrong impression of life. We think the very big incidents of our lives are consequences of huge dilemmas or major decisions. If we paid attention, we'd realize that the determining incidents in our lives are ordinary things.