Iranian filmmakers are not passive. They fight whenever they can, as creative expression means a lot to them. The restrictions and censorship in Iran are a bit like the British weather: one day it's sunny, the next day it's raining. You just have to hope you walk out into the sunshine.

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.

I gained a great deal from the period during which I worked in theater and I value those things a great deal.

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

Poetry, especially traditional Iranian poetry, is very good at looking at things from a number of different angles simultaneously.

When we talk about self-confrontations, we are speaking about moral issues rather than social issues.