Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami (Persian: عباس کیارستمی [ʔæbˌbɒːs kijɒːɾostæˈmi] ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of over forty films, including shorts and documentaries. Kiarostami attained critical acclaim for directing the Koker trilogy (1987–1994), Close-Up (1990), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), and Taste of Cherry (1997), which was awarded the Palme
Defining films
In their own words
Kiarostami repeatedly cited Michelangelo Antonioni as a major influence, pointing to L'Avventura and L'Eclisse in particular for their daring narratives and profound visual language regarding alienation.
Kiarostami, particularly the Koker Trilogy, which includes Life, and Nothing More…, taught me a lot about how to make a film that feels both documentary and fictional, how to use the search for something as a narrative engine.
A brilliant piece of filmmaking that transcends the boundaries of documentary and fiction, something I've always admired and tried to achieve in my own work.
Kiarostami did in Taste of Cherry or Close-Up, where you never quite know what's real or not.
Critical context
b. June 22, 1940, Tehran, Iran.
Films by decade
