Will you be working with professional actors? Do you have anyone in mind?
I don’t know yet. The reason why I am not keen on professional actors is because they are too busy acting. On several occasions, they are far from being natural.

You’ve always worked on your own scripts. Will you be willing to work on someone else’s story?
I haven’t thought about it, but why not? If I like the script, I certainly will.

What are your other forthcoming projects?
I have just wrapped up The Song of Sparrows. It is a story about a family — parents and children — facing hardship. There is also a project with the Chinese government as part of the countdown to the Olympics. Five international directors were invited to make films on Beijing. We were asked to choose a theme and I decided to focus on children. It is just five minutes long, shot with the kids of Beijing.

Children have always been a wonderful presence in your movies. The Color of Paradise was about the struggle between a blind boy and his father; Children of Heaven had two siblings.
I think I work with children because I have fond memories of my own childhood. I started acting in amateur theatre groups when I was 14. In my movies, I try to bridge the gap between an innocent world and the difficult adult world. It is tough to work with kids, but I succeeded in making them comfortable.

You lost the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film to Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful. What was the Oscar experience like?
It was great. Every filmmaker wants to be there, and I would like to be there again — but that is not why I make films.

What is the state of films in Iran? Is there a lot of government intervention?
There are highs and lows. There is a lot of government intervention. One of the best phases was when President Khatami was elected. He took keen interest in developing Iranian cinema and promoting it internationally. Right now, cinema in Iran is in a stage of transition and uncertainty — it is neither in a low phase, nor on a high.

Your films are simple on the surface but there is an underlying social reality. Is there ever a fear of becoming over-simplistic?
If someone likes the movie then they will certainly analyse it. I allow the audience to interpret the scenes, but I give them directions. My movies don’t have strong political messages, but social messages do underline the scripts.