Iranian Cinema and Kiarostami
New York’s Museum of Modern Art is screening 32 of Abbas Kiarostami's films (Taste of Cherry, Life and nothing more, Ten, Through the Olive trees, The Wind will carry us...)this month and celebrating his accomplishments as one of the great film directors of our time.
Here are some excerpts from Kiarostami's interview with Deborah Solomon of NY Times:
As an independent filmmaker living in a repressive Islamic theocracy, are you harassed by the government? They are very civil, but they don’t allow me to screen my movies.
If your films are not shown in theaters in Iran, do Iranians know of them? They can buy the DVDs on the black market.
It’s odd that your films would be viewed as subversive, when they’re more philosophical than political and abound with picturesque views of the countryside. My favorite is “Where Is the Friend’s House?” in which a young boy walks all night to return his friend’s notebook, which he took by mistake. I don’t have a favorite. When I see my old favorites, I can’t even stand 10 minutes of them. Either I have changed or the movies have become old.
Why are so many of your films set in cars, including “The Taste of Cherry,” in which a man drives around the country for the entire film, unsuccessfully asking strangers to help him commit suicide? A car is a private, personal room in motion. It’s the only room when you are sitting in it; you don’t have to entertain guests. I spend a lot of time in the car. I love driving. If I were not a filmmaker, I would have become a truck driver.
Unlike some other Iranian artists who have fled the country, why have you decided to stay put? I like my house. The only place I sleep well is my own room in Iran.
Seriously, how do artists in Iran deal with the restrictions imposed on them by the government? It makes them more creative, because art is the one positive thing they can get out of their life in Iran.
What do you think of President Ahmadinejad? Do you agree with his policies? I think he doesn’t do his job well. He came to power promising to solve economic problems, which he never did.
As a Shiite Muslim, are you religious? It’s a very private question, but if you insist, I will answer it. I am not politically religious, but I have some beliefs.
Many of us in the West are confounded by the intensity of the violence between Iraq’s Shiites and Sunnis, since they belong to the same faith. It’s not a religious conflict. The war is not a belief war. It’s an economic war. It’s the result of the disproportionate division of money between the two classes of society.
How do you support your filmmaking since it obviously doesn’t bring in a lot at the box office? I subsidize my movies by selling my photographs. I had a show in New York at the Andrea Rosen Gallery in 2000, but at the moment the U.S. has sanctions and there is not a possibility of commercial exchange.
Was it hard to obtain a visa from the U.S. government for this trip? They were very kind to me; they gave me a visa. But when I arrived here, at J.F.K., I had two and a half hours of Q. and A.
The U.S. government does Q. and A.’s? Not like you do. It’s just to make you aware that they are watching you. They asked me: How old is your mother? How old is your father? Where do you live? I answered all the questions with pleasure.
How old is your mother? My mother is 105 years old. She is very happy and very relaxed.
What does she think of your films? She sleeps through them.
Do you always wear sunglasses? I take them off when I shower.
As an independent filmmaker living in a repressive Islamic theocracy, are you harassed by the government? They are very civil, but they don’t allow me to screen my movies.
If your films are not shown in theaters in Iran, do Iranians know of them? They can buy the DVDs on the black market.
It’s odd that your films would be viewed as subversive, when they’re more philosophical than political and abound with picturesque views of the countryside. My favorite is “Where Is the Friend’s House?” in which a young boy walks all night to return his friend’s notebook, which he took by mistake. I don’t have a favorite. When I see my old favorites, I can’t even stand 10 minutes of them. Either I have changed or the movies have become old.
Why are so many of your films set in cars, including “The Taste of Cherry,” in which a man drives around the country for the entire film, unsuccessfully asking strangers to help him commit suicide? A car is a private, personal room in motion. It’s the only room when you are sitting in it; you don’t have to entertain guests. I spend a lot of time in the car. I love driving. If I were not a filmmaker, I would have become a truck driver.
Unlike some other Iranian artists who have fled the country, why have you decided to stay put? I like my house. The only place I sleep well is my own room in Iran.
Seriously, how do artists in Iran deal with the restrictions imposed on them by the government? It makes them more creative, because art is the one positive thing they can get out of their life in Iran.
What do you think of President Ahmadinejad? Do you agree with his policies? I think he doesn’t do his job well. He came to power promising to solve economic problems, which he never did.
As a Shiite Muslim, are you religious? It’s a very private question, but if you insist, I will answer it. I am not politically religious, but I have some beliefs.
Many of us in the West are confounded by the intensity of the violence between Iraq’s Shiites and Sunnis, since they belong to the same faith. It’s not a religious conflict. The war is not a belief war. It’s an economic war. It’s the result of the disproportionate division of money between the two classes of society.
How do you support your filmmaking since it obviously doesn’t bring in a lot at the box office? I subsidize my movies by selling my photographs. I had a show in New York at the Andrea Rosen Gallery in 2000, but at the moment the U.S. has sanctions and there is not a possibility of commercial exchange.
Was it hard to obtain a visa from the U.S. government for this trip? They were very kind to me; they gave me a visa. But when I arrived here, at J.F.K., I had two and a half hours of Q. and A.
The U.S. government does Q. and A.’s? Not like you do. It’s just to make you aware that they are watching you. They asked me: How old is your mother? How old is your father? Where do you live? I answered all the questions with pleasure.
How old is your mother? My mother is 105 years old. She is very happy and very relaxed.
What does she think of your films? She sleeps through them.
Do you always wear sunglasses? I take them off when I shower.
The Village Voice review of 'The Wind will Carry us'
All of his movies can be rented at blockbusters or you can purchase the DVD at Amazon.com
More info on Kiarostami from Wikipedia here.
ABF, for the promotion of human rights and democracy in Iran
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