Poetry always runs away from you – its very difficult to grasp it, and every time you read it, depending on your conditions, you will have a different grasp of it. Whereas with a novel, once you have read it, you have grasped it. – Abbas Kiarostami
I would say that no film is apolitical. There are politics in all films. Any film that is anchored in a society, any film that deals with humanity is necessarily political. – Abbas Kiarostami
Religion works on some people but not on everyone, because it says, Stop thinking and accept what I tell you. Thats not valid for people who want to think and reflect. – Abbas Kiarostami
Some movies bring out the creativity in you. Every single audience member can become creative in the face of a particular movie. If you happen to like my films, its because my films provide a bed for you on which you can find your creativity. The Hollywood movies do not provide that for you. – Abbas Kiarostami
Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things. – T.S. Eliot, Tradition and the Individual Talent, 1919