Home and the world

This kind of cinema is very close to reality. The recurring theme in all my movies is families. This give a scope to talk about relationships and their complexities. When we talk about families,you can find children,old people,as well as wife and husband in the story. A family can be a symbol of a society. When I talk about human relationships,I believe it helps me understand myself better. It’s like opening a window to myself. I would have been someone else had I not made these movies.

How vital are moral dilemmas and religious issues to your stories?

For me,it is more important to talk about morality than religion. In some countries,there is a deeper link between morality and religion. In A Separation,one can see they are interlinked. In Le Passe,the role of religion is less and it’s more about morality.

What made you cast Berenice

Bejo in the movie after she had played such a perky character in The Artist?

When I was in America to show A Separation,Berenice was there for The Artist. We ended up meeting and talking quite a lot. When I saw The Artist,I thought she had done a fantastic job. That’s how I thought of casting her in my movie. While making the movie,I lived in Paris for two years,and now I am back in Iran.

Will Le Passe release in India?

We have plans of showing the movie in India. We are thinking of doing that sometime after the festival.

Indian and Iranian societies have many similarities. Will you ever consider making a movie in India?

Iran and India have similar roots. Emotionally,our culture has been quite close to each other. I have received a couple of offers from India in the past. When a story comes to my mind that requires me to work in India,I will definitely do so. The same goes for other international projects. Right now I am mulling over two projects — one set in Iran and the other needs to be shot in international locations. As for India,I have travelled to festivals with my movies several times. In Iran,Indian films,especially commercial ones,used to be very popular. In one of my early movies,there is a scene which shows people watching Sholay.

You are an acclaimed screenwriter as well as director. How integral is writing to your craft?

The most enjoyable time for me while making a movie is when I am writing. Most of my time is spent on writing — three hours every day. For a long time,I wrote short notes. Then I collected those notes and tried to weave them together into a bigger story. I spent a year thinking about A Separation. Once I had finalised what the story would be,writing it took two to three months. Le Passe demanded more time than that

In Iran,filmmakers have often faced censorship problems. Has the government become more open-minded now?

The situation is better now. I believe,younger directors will see a more positive time ahead.