In Iranian cinema, all the lying takes place before making the film. In order to be able to make the film, you have to lie.

I am really bothered when I see my friends facing problems back in Iran, but I tell them that not all the doors are shut.

In Kurdistan, there's a lot of hardship - a lot of wars, a lot of bitter and difficult lifestyles. And witnessing all those made me a director.

If I hadn't turned out to be a filmmaker, I would have been a musician.

My husband and I grew up with parents who supported our passion, and we're grateful to them for that. It really helps you find your identity when you're younger. It helps you become a really well-rounded person, the more you can show from different perspectives. The arts show us empathy, which is so important.

Before finding a mentor, I feel it's essential to really find your own calling and passion. From my experience, this will become a guiding bond in this kind of relationship. Be curious and engaged - and push yourself actively. Be as good as you can at what you love to do, and you will certainly get a mentor's attention.

Have you ever asked yourselves what you are going to do when you grow up? In all likelihood you will get married, and before you know where you are, you will be mothers and fathers; and you will then be tied to a job, or to the kitchen, in which you will gradually wither away. Is that all that your life is going to be?

If I did not have my wife, I wouldn't be married, I wouldn't have the life that I have and I wouldn't have my wonderful baby boy who's not a baby anymore - he's going to be eight-years-old.