What really enthralls me is working with the actor and seeing where you can go with that. It's in that exchange and that relationship.

I didn't really think in terms of clichés or non-clichés.

I have many projects in various states of development. Some are on paper and some are in my head. But as I go on, I feel the need to be guided in my choices.

Every day, there's that tension and the pressure. Each scene that you shoot is like getting to that next step, but there's still that mountain to climb. So it's not like one day is harder or one scene is harder. They are all equally challenging.

The writing of the script is a continual process. There's the first draft and then many, many re-writes here and there.

My film (Black Venus) had been very emotionally draining and difficult because I had identified so much with the lead character, Saartjie Baartman.

[ Blue is the Warmest Color ] was really a film about two people having to go through a relationship which everyone knew would lead to a breakup and the pain that that entails. Anybody can see that story, what leads to that, and identify with it. As a filmmaker, I wanted to construct this identification process with the characters so that you fully connect to their emotions and what their breakup [represents].