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In my little imperfect way, what I'm trying to do is understand the world. As a filmmaker, you realize as you get older that each film is part of a dialogue you're having with yourself. That started when I was working in documentaries. And in a way, I've never deviated from it.

It's hard to understand the films that you're in, because you never truly get to see them.

Film is this incredible medium that allows us to feel empathy for people that are very different than us and worlds completely foreign from our own.

I feel like every movie, I've learned more and more about what I think of the world and what I'm trying to figure out.

It is kind of bizarre, but at the same time, I feel like anyone that gets into movies didn't fit into the real world, and so we made our own world.

My films are very rooted in specific people's point of view. Some film-makers give a more global point of view, like God looking down at the characters.

When I go to a film, you're taking it easy and you let things wash over you. That's what cinema's all about. You get involved in a world that's being created in front of you.

In Hollywood, more often than not, they're making more kind of traditional films, stories that are understood by people. And the entire story is understood. And they become worried if even for one small moment something happens that is not understood by everyone.

With every film, we form a small little world for a period of time. Everybody is close, and then one fine day everything is over. That can throw you off. So you have to learn to take things in your stride and not get too emotional about people or situations.

When my films don't do well, I'm hurt and surprised. It's discouraging.