I have actually been very fortunate to be able to make films on my own credit card without having huge funders behind me dictating how the story should be told.

You know, Arabs are critical of United States foreign policy, but they also associate the U.S. with democratic principles and opportunity.

In making films, I'm constantly looking for people who are in conflict and who are going to surprise you and challenge you.

There are these very poor communities on the outskirts of Cairo called Mokattam, where a lot of the garbage collectors live. I used to volunteer there, doing health and education work when I was younger and living in Egypt.

Al Jazeera is demonized by the United States, yet in Egypt my father would be watching it.

As the world is getting smaller, it becomes more and more important that we learn each other's dance moves, that we meet each other, we get to know each other, we are able to figure out a way to cross borders, to understand each other, to understand people's hopes and dreams, what makes them laugh and cry.

I used to do volunteer work in poor areas of Cairo, and people would gather their money together to get a satellite dish. You'd see them huddling around and for the first time seeing issues being debated on TV that had never been talked about before. And that is the biggest promoter of democracy you could possibly have.