It's incredible to see the creativity, beauty and hardships people capture when filmmaking is opened up and shared with the world.

Look at the Civil Rights Movement. Look at any kind of fight for change. People had to keep fighting and taking their rights. Rights are never given to you. They have to be fought for and they have to be taken.

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

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

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.

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.

It's incredible to see the creativity, beauty and hardships people capture when filmmaking is opened up and shared with the world.