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

Having an international voice is not really about whether we speak Persian or any other language.

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

As soon as people enter a theater they must become moron consumers who must be fed information.

I did not have a script [of Close Up]. I made notes in the evenings and we filmed during the day over 40 days.I didn't sleep a wink for those 40 nights. I have a picture from the end of the shoot, and in it I have lost all my hair.

This kind of directing, I think, is very similar to being a football coach. You prepare your players and place them in the right places, but once the game is on, there's nothing much you can do - you can smoke a cigarette or get nervous, but you can't do much.

As long as I take the responsibility of the choice, I have to make the choice that is as right as possible.