I Think Violence Can Never Be Justified.

I Have Received The Digital Camera As A Blessing. It Has Really Changed My Life As A Filmmaker, Because I Don't Use My Camera Anymore As A Camera. I Don't Feel It As A Camera. I Feel It As A Friend, As Something That Doesn't Make An Impression On People, That Doesn't Make Them Feel Uncomfortable, And That Is Completely Forgotten In My Way Of Approaching Life And People And Film.

Close-up Has Affected Later Films That I've Made.

In My Experience As A Director, I Think There Is Obviously Something Of The Way Men - Maybe That's A Common Point With Shirin - The Way Men See Women In The Film, And The Way These Two Characters See Each Other.

I Had Intended To Make Another Film, Called Pocket Money, Which Was To Be About Children At A School. I Was Very Much Intrigued By The Story [of Close Up] - It Came Into My Dreams And I Was Very Much Influenced By It. So I Called My Producer And Asked That We Put Aside Pocket Money And Start Something Else, And He Agreed.

In My Opinion The Man Looks At The Relationship In A More Bitter Fashion And The Woman Still Holds Great Hopes.