Rakhshan Bani-Etemad is mostly interested to be accepted inside her country, than to get credits as a director abroad, without that meaning that she doesn't appreciate the fact that her films get widely accepted outside Iran. This year the distinguished director is invited by New Horizons in the context of 3x3 section.

At the beginning of the press conference the director was asked about women's situation in Iran as well as for the difficulties a woman director may face when shooting a film. Etemant disclaimed the fact that Iranian women follow the norms of women in the Orient, of women in the …harem. "Before Islam, we had a civilization of 2500 years, and therefore we have learned the culture of resistance. The restrictions imposed to women in other countries of the wider region do not apply for Iranian women. Legal restrictions are set, although women in Iran are still active". According to her, these restrictions didn't turn women inactive, on the contrary they have activated them in difficult sectors, such as science and art. "That's why I consider a tricky question when I am asked whether women may actually become directors in Iran".

Rakhshan Bani-Etemad deals mostly with subjects that are considered critical in her country, such as poverty, criminality or illegal love. She started her career in Cinema as a director of documentaries and she still considers herself as such. "In the Iranian society, a society full of contradictions, my films are social documentaries."

She acknowledged that these subjects are painful to deal with, by admitting that she would rather present more pleasing themes if she had a possibility of choosing subjects concerning, for instance, nature or civilization. "The pain and sorrow I show in my films is opposed to the wealth that other people possess. I would rather demonstrate the problems of people who suffer under injustice than dealing with rich people, so as to be able to make a film".

Regarding the actors she collaborates with, she stated that they were professionals, although she tried to direct them in a way to seem amateurs.

The director refused to compare her work to this of other important Iranian directors, such as Kiarostami: "I can't compare myself to other directors. I consider that my work is different. My basic task is to show the social problems of my country."

She made a special reference to her film Narges, a film cut out for six years by the board of sensors in Iran (the prohibition is no longer valid). The film was screened only for two months and it received enthusiastic critics. "It was the first film dealing with love, and despite the restrictions, I presented the life of a whore."