I have always felt that documentaries are an opportunity for me to witness a world that I know nothing about.

I am particularly pleased to see that there are so many women working in documentary film.

When Steve Wise told me that he intended to argue in court before a judge that an animal could be a "legal person," it seemed like a novel, possibly far-fetched idea, but the more I thought about it, the more I became intrigued.

I have always felt that documentaries are an opportunity for me to witness a world that I know nothing about.

Learning how to do some of the technical work on the film can be helpful too and allows you to start the film on your own. However, if you are passionate about an idea, just begin.

I have always thought that if you can give viewers the sense of being there a story can be very compelling.

Crowdsourcing is an invaluable resource for filmmakers, but be prepared for an enormous amount of work.