Those who cannot condemn the past repeat it in order to remember it.

I used to say that interviewing others was perhaps the way I could stop talking and start listening. It's a kind of enforced silence.

It's a kind of honour when I see how many people are imitating the style of how I make films.

I've always wondered where explanations end and excuses begin.

[Elsa Dorfman]was well known. Certainly in the Boston area, she's well known as a portrait photographer. My wife always wanted to meet her and then there was some benefit where she was taking pictures.

You can't tell by looking at a film-clip whether it is a drama or a documentary without knowing how it was produced.

You can think of my films as cautionary tales, but you might even think of them as despairing tales, because at least in a cautionary tale, you have this idea that by listening to the story you can assure a better outcome. Whereas I'm not at all convinced that's the case. In fact, if anything, I'm convinced that it's the opposite.