If you never did anything for your own freedom, you're not worth a human being in my view.

When you don't work together you can't emerge as a force. It becomes what some call a "lonely struggle" and individual self-destruction.

I think once you have films in certain festivals you begin to have name recognition, and there are possibilities.

The true story is that black people need to tell their history. Very few films are made by black people about slavery. That itself is a crime because slavery is a very important historical event that has held our people hostage. Forget white people's role in it. In the end what's important is black people remain and live with the scars and psychological issues.

When my film went to the Venice Film Festival and won the best script writing, the jury [prize], it didn't go to my head. I know how many black filmmakers that I am operating with whose name will never be mentioned. But I'm part of them in that silent existence.

The system knows how to cherry pick black people. It's like affirmative action - once a year, one is recognized. But what has to occur is self-emergence so if they ignore you, you don't have to disappear.

For any movement to emerge, it has to be innovatively independent from the mainstream cinema, and I don't see that much.