It's very difficult to talk about religion in Iran because religion has gotten so mixed up with politics.

I see screenwriting as a bit like a math equation which I have to solve.

It was important to me to make a film where I don't show the past but where the spectators can see the past.

Often times, music is used to evoke an emotion and it's become a cliche, so I don't want to do that, and actually what I do, is that emotional intensity that has developed throughout the film, I allow it to get released by having that music at the end with the credits.

I would have had the same narrative, regardless of the atmosphere and the restrictions.

The fact is I'm not making a film in order to draw pictures or make images about Iran.

Whether we like it or not, the modernity is something that comes from Western countries, and when the modernity comes to the Eastern countries, although they feel like they really need it, at the same time it shakes the very fundament of the culture - there is always this challenge between the two.