We have spoken with director and screenwriter Ali Abbasi about his love for film and the cinema experience, the Cinematheque in Stockholm, Bergman, Trier - and his relationship with the Iranian film culture he grew up in.

Before Ali Abbasi entered the Film School in Denmark, he studied architecture in Stockholm, where he spent most of his time at the Cinematheque, watching four films a day. "What I know about film, I learned at Cinemateket in Stockholm," he enthusiastically recounts about that time.

In the interview, we discuss Abbasi's entry into the world of film and the cinema experience as well as renowned directors such as Ingmar Bergman and Lars von Trier - and his ambivalent relationship with Iranian cinema, where his own film 'Holy Spider' contrasts with the country's politically controlled reluctance to address risky topics such as sex and politics.

Ali Abbasi has curated a film series that can be experienced from June 18 to August 31 at the Cinematheque in Copenhagen: https://www.dfi.dk/cinemateket/biogra...

Learn more about Ali Abbasi in our Film Database: https://www.dfi.dk/viden-om-film/film...