Refugees have done more for my heart and my spirit than I can ever express in words.

When I first went to places where people were suffering from war and persecution, I felt ashamed of my feelings of sadness. I could see more possibilities in my life.

I do have tatoos, and I do wear leather, but there are other sides of me, that my film express.

There is no shame in being a survivor of sexual violence. The shame is on the aggressor.

I realized that very young - that a life where you don't live to your full potential, or you don't experiment, or you're afraid, or you hesitate, or there are things you know you should do but you just don't get around to them, is a life that I'd be miserable living, and the only way to feel that I'm on the right path is just to be true to myself, whatever that may be, and that tends to come with stepping out of something that's maybe safe or traditional.

I'd like to believe that the people that have supported me in my work or identified with me in films, the people that feel they know me, they do and they don't have misconceptions - they understand. I believe that.

My kids will be needing me a lot when they hit their teens. If I know anything about being a teenager. I need to be braced to be spending a lot of time with all six of them and making sure I can be there for when they go through everything.