True values entail suffering. That’s the way we think. All in all, we tend to view melancholia as more true. We prefer music and art to contain a touch of melancholia. So melancholia in itself is a value. Unhappy and unrequited love is more romantic than happy love. For we don’t think that’s completely real, do we?…Longing is true. It may be that there’s no truth at all to long for, but the longing itself is true. Just like pain is true. We feel it inside. It’s part of our reality.

When I was in film school, it was said that all good films were characterised by some form of humour.

Unfortunately, on one or both of my shoulders sits lots of anxiety and that is a controlling factor in my life.

It is more difficult to manipulate with film than, for instance, video. The problem with video is that it gives you a thousand possibilities.

I know that I cannot be with a person for three hours without saying at least ten things that would kill me.

I can't tell you why I choose stuff, it's really something I don't analyse. The only thing I can say is that a film has to demand to be made, I don't have a plan of what films I'm going to make. The only thing that I know now is that I'm not too crazy about doing things again that I've been into before.

Just the fact that you're working is good for you.