When I went to university, I finally got exposed to European films, and they had a strong impact on me. I felt those films had a lot of things to say that weren't getting expressed in the films I was used to seeing.

I saw what I could [in Mexico City], but we rarely got anything other than big, mainstream American films.

I think every beautiful tale in the world hides the truth and reveals it little by little.

I think the arts should get big support, but my country has a lot of needs more important than film. Medication, education, food... The poverty is overwhelming. There are simply more important things to be attended to.

I remember, the first time I saw a [Andrei] Tarkovsky film, I was shocked by it. I didn't know what to do. I was fascinated, because suddenly I realized that film could have so many more layers to it than what I had imagined before. Then others, like Kurosawa and Fellini, were like a new discovery for me, another country.

I personally can't handle frivolous violence. I overreact to it.

I didn't have a normal academic career. I never studied cinema. I learned from life.