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!"

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

I want every scene to feel electric and I try to finish the filming period with a clear trajectory: a beginning, a middle, and hopefully an end.I hate "fly on the wall." It infers that I don't relate to the people we're with and that I don't get affected by events. I like it when people talk to me. I never say things like "Don't look at the camera" - how bossy!

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.

I don't have any advice at all. I think we all make the films that reflect the kind of people we are; we all make such different films. There's not just one way of doing it.

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.

The biggest misconception about me is perhaps that I film all the time and film everything randomly. The truth is I film very little and always when something excites me and seems to mean something for the film.