I don't generally derive my stories from novels. I try to turn into film things I have felt or experienced.

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.

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.

Close-Up has affected later films that I've made.

My car's my best friend. My office. My home. My location. I have a very intimate sense when I am in a car with someone next to me. We're in the most comfortable seats because we're not facing each other, but sitting side by side. We don't look at each other, but instead do so only when we want to. We're allowed to look around without appearing rude. We have a big screen in front of us and side views. Silence doesn't seem heavy or difficult. Nobody serves anybody. And many other aspects. One most important thing is that it transports us from one place to another.

The Iranian government as a whole has no relationship with my films. They're not particularly interested, perhaps this kind of cinema is not very interesting to them.

In my mind, there isn't as much of a distinction between documentary and fiction as there is between a good movie and a bad one.