TEHRAN – A book containing an intensive interview with the world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has recently been published by Aban Publications.

The interview was carried out by writer Mehdi Mozaffari Savoji for the book entitled “An Interview with Kiarostami”.

“To convince Kiarostami was not an easy thing to do,” Mozaffari Savoji told the Persian service of ISNA on Sunday.

It took him several years to convince the master to agree to the interview.

Finally, Kiarostami said that he would decide to have the interview or not after reading Mozaffari Savoji’s previous book “Conversation with Najaf Daryabandari”, which covers an interview with Daryabandari, the translator of Ernst Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”.

“Kiarostami later told me that he had taken the book with him during a trip he made to Paris and had read the book nonstop until he had finished it.

“And it was in 2009 that I pushed the play button of my tape-recorder and asked the first question from Kiarostami, but it took several years to be accomplished because of his trips and filmmaking projects,” Mozaffari Savoji explained.

“The book is comprised of three chapters. It begins with the poetry I have dedicated to Kiarostami in addition to several reports and the daily notes, which have actually made me much closer to the life of Kiarostami. It also covers bibliography, filmography and reviews of his works and awards,” he said.

The second chapter includes notes by Kiarostami, which were previously published in foreign media including the Guardian.

“My interview with the master covers 150 pages which completely contains the life of Kiarostami.

“It begins with his birth, and continues with Asghar Farhadi, his film ‘A Separation’ and ends with Federico Fellini.

“Family, school, first experience of filmmaking, poetry recitation, religion, [filmmakers] Ebrahim Golestan and Masud Kimiai are among other topics discussed during the interview,” he concluded.

“Interview with Simin Behbahani”, “Interview with Akbar Radi” and books about poets Mehdi Akhavan-Saless, and Ahmad Shamlu are among Mozaffari Savoji’s other credits.

RM/YAW