The Poetic Life and Films of Iranian Filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami

Remembrances are pouring out for the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami who died on Monday at the age of 76. He was undergoing treatment for cancer in Paris. Kiarostami made more than 40 films and documentaries. Words like “intimate,” “contemplative” and “poetic” have been used to describe his work. His films were not overtly political, though he had his run-ins with conservatives at home in Iran. After “Taste of Cherry” won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1997, there were protests at the airport in Tehran because of Kiarostami’s association with outsiders.