Kiarostami Showed Respect for Nature

A close friend and longtime collaborator of Abbas Kiarostami has described him as a natural-born worker of creation and nature. Seyfollah Samadian, who traveled extensively with the road-loving filmmaker in Iran's nature, has characterized Kiarostami's environmentalism and solitude-seeking as unique and exceptional. This unity with nature can be seen in his earliest films, such as 'Colors' in 1975, which utilized natural elements for teaching children. His environmentalism is more boldly depicted in 'Where Is My Friend's Home?', illustrating pristine rural spaces, filled with short, subtle, and gentle images of friendly life alongside nature. This program can be fully listened to: Embedshare A House, A Land 109; Abbas Kiarostami Loved Nature and the Environment Without Manipulation from Radio Farda. Bahman Maqsoudloo, an Iranian director, producer, and documentary filmmaker residing in New York, who spent years capturing Kiarostami on camera for a documentary, discusses Kiarostami's perspective on the environment and nature, stating that he was drawn from urban life and urban films to the countryside: 'Kiarostami went to the village because he had a very delicate and sensitive spirit and a precise and intelligent gaze. He loved nature. The photos he took, besides reflecting his love and interest in nature and the environment, indicate his fatigue from the harsh urban environment. He was passionate about nature and the environment. One of his characteristics was that he focused on various aspects of humans, trees, branches, flowers, and even a piece of wood to show, for instance, the different facets of a tree. In my opinion, Kiarostami's films are a complete blend of his profound gaze at nature.' Abbas Kiarostami, in an interview with the magazine 'Tajrobe', spoke of this pure experience he had with nature in the poetry of Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani: he mentioned that no poet has as much garden in their poetry as Shafiei Kadkani, which is natural. Our daily need now is for gardens, greenery, and nature. We step out of the city to see gardens and greenery and pristine nature. Everyone wants to buy a small garden around the city. Kadkani's love for nature is incredible. It keeps me awake. Kadkani calls you to nature. Kiarostami's environmental approach, through photography, experiences in arranging trees, and his inclination towards making experimental short films with subjects like sea waves, the passage of ducks, and the movement of ants, further reveals his love and passion for the environment. He also ventured into literature, where animals, plants, trees, and rain hold significant places in his poetry and haikus. Ismail Kahrm, an environmental researcher and professor in Tehran, who has acted in several films including 'The Color of Pomegranate', states that Abbas Kiarostami also invites his viewers to nature: 'Kiarostami had a special interest in depicting a path in nature as if you are on the road. Having traversed the nature of Iran for 40 years, I felt that I was moving through this winding path. Kiarostami draws the viewer into nature, which is very valuable because he chose pristine and untouched nature and made the audience admire it.' Kiarostami loved nature as an unaltered and unspoiled location. He would search extensively to find the ideal location for his film. He never added or removed anything from nature himself. Bahman Maqsoudloo mentions that Kiarostami once said about his photographs that they suggest one should not look at nature 'hastily'. One should gaze at the beauty of nature calmly and patiently, allowing the beauty of a tree, a shade, or a meadow to settle and remain. This is what, according to Bahman Maqsoudloo, an old cinema critic in New York and a friend of Abbas Kiarostami, is evident especially in Kiarostami's rural films. A thought without a message or slogan but for the preservation of the environment and enjoyment of the beauty of nature, which he also paid attention to behind the scenes: 'Kiarostami loved nature as an unaltered and unspoiled location. He would search extensively to find the ideal location for his film. He never added or removed anything from nature. He would see the landscapes and photograph them to find what he wanted. The exception might be placing an extra flower or tree in the frame to complete his scene. However, he showcased the wonder and beauty of nature, and what he displayed was respect for nature.' 'In the film 'Taste of Cherry', I didn't even hammer a nail into a wall.' Abbas Kiarostami, regarding the acclaimed film that won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Festival, stated that he did not hammer a single nail into a wall and made no changes to the scene and nature. The only change he made during filming was planting a tree. A tree that, in his view, always had an independent character, and he wanted to make a film and take photographs of the tree, which he sometimes saw as lonely and sometimes sad. Abbas Kiarostami once said that when you see a tree, you find no flaw in it. The phenomenon of a tree growing in nature leaves no defect in its existence. Perhaps we can learn from this perspective to see nature in our search and interaction with it as it was created and evolved. Ismail Kahrm describes Kiarostami's filmmaking style, which made him the most nature-loving director in Iran. Someone who, with his special and profound experiences, spoke quickly, directly, without fluff and excess, softly and simply, fluidly about the environment. Ismail Kahrm, an old nature traveler and judge of the Green Film Festival, speaks about the environment from this love for nature evident in Kiarostami's works, which is apparent in most of his works: 'Abbas Kiarostami once said that when you see a tree, you find no flaw in it. The phenomenon of a tree growing in nature leaves no defect in its existence. Perhaps we can learn from this perspective to be in search and interaction with nature and see it as it was created and evolved. There is a hidden tranquility in this insight. Kiarostami was not one to send messages or show the path of movement, but he managed to convey his view to us without slogans and encroachment on nature.' Kiarostami's environmentalism has been compared to the poetry of Sohrab Sepehri, an Iranian modern poet. It has been said about him that he was one of the few Iranian filmmakers who looked at nature with a philosophical and anthropological perspective in his poetic cinema.