I remember when I came out of an exam thinking I had done well and then I had a clue that maybe one answer was wrong, I remembered that I rather stop knowing, stop thinking about it, appreciating life instead. So first, it was just a memory. But then I realized that in life, it's a much more general sentiment - that instead of waiting for other people's judgment, I'd rather focus on my own feelings, that everything is fine. To go on with my life rather than anticipating other people's judgements that might be negative.

I often say to my students in workshops that if they are trying to find literary inspiration, they should not go and read novels, because novels are more appropriate for series. Where as they should read short stories - that's the right format for you to be able to actually display the narrative in a film.

I think life is so difficult to catch, it's so furtive, that a copy, a film, can in no way catch it and represent it.

If I do continue to have the opportunity to work in Iran, that's very much what I'd prefer to do.

I think that if you're a digital thinker, you can use a digital camera.

I don't like reverse-angle shots - I find them very fake and very untruthful to the viewer.

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.