The magic of documentary is that I keep being surprised and amazed by the things I film.

People want black and white answers, but it's not one thing or another. I think the only way we're going to make good things is to inspire people and make them feel as though what they're watching is real.

Those are the films I want to make. I don't want to make a film about, "Oh, those poor prostitutes!" Or "Oh, isn't it terrible in Chicago!" I want to make a film where people think, "Brenda's like me!"

I'm not generalizing anymore about men and women, because I think these old terms of "masculine" and "feminine" are going very fast with the rise of transgender rights that are questioning what all these categories are.

I know that sounds contradictory - you're going on a journey, but once you know who your characters are, you become more disciplined and you film less and less.

The magic of documentary is that I keep being surprised and amazed by the things I film.

I don't want the people I'm with on this journey to feel like I'm filming them all the time. I don't want them to constantly feel as though they're being watched. So I will have the camera ready at all times, but I will only film when something is really worth filming. Those are the moments when the person being filmed is usually not aware of it.