Having an international voice is not really about whether we speak Persian or any other language.

I've often noticed that we are not able to look at what we have in front of us, unless it's inside a frame.

Religion works on some people but not on everyone, because it says, 'Stop thinking and accept what I tell you.' That's not valid for people who want to think and reflect.

Cinema seats make people lazy. They expect to be given all the information. But for me, question marks are the punctuation of life.

A movie is about human beings, about humanity.

In the total darkness, poetry is still there, and it is there for you.

Film is very much a universal and common voice, and we can't limit it to one particular culture.

Good cinema is what we can believe and bad cinema is what we can't believe. What you see and believe in is very much what I'm interested in.

My way of expression is full of complications and mystery because that's my perception of life.

I would be too selfish if I said everyone should see my movies more than once. To say that would mean I'm just marketing my work!

I spend a lot of time doing carpentry. Sometimes there is nothing that gives me the contentment that sawing a piece of wood does.

It's not enough to have the feathers.You must dare to fly!

I've always had such high expectations for myself. I'm aware of them but I can't relax them.

I'm planning on finishing the Gospels at some point.

Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and your digestion.

To stop thought, you have to go above it. We are collecting energy. When it is freed, it is like a flood and the water will rise and we are in altered states of attention.

Jamie Foley - he's a very different energy to [director] Sam [Taylor-Johnson]. The whole experience was actually quite different.

Don King doesn't care about black or white. He just cares about green.

Living in this world, under the dominance of the ego mind, is difficult. That's the struggle.

The songs that give you the most trouble become your best songs.

Money has a fixed value. People can have unlimited value.