One is that I'm really interested in movies about sex and lust, because I think those are primal, carnal instincts that translate well to a visual medium. Two, these things that I write, or want to make, are an expression of - I don't want to say darker instincts, but let's say darker instincts. But that's why I'm a writer.

Sexism is real and it persists in film and television. I've seen female directors openly undermined by male cinematographers in front of the entire crew

Having kids is a full-time job. And I don't know any woman who isn't constantly fighting between the exquisite selfishness required to be an artist and this exquisite selflessness that's required to be a parent.

The camera is your way to see what you want to see - it's an extension of the director's fantasy. I'm executing my personal fantasy, whether it's a fantasy of pleasure or of pain and fear.

I'm never trying to make a statement about morality ever. If there's a statement to be made, it's "People are complicated. They do things that may hurt other people, or exploit other people, but they may do them for the right reasons, or out of desperation." I don't judge that sort of "bad" behavior. I'm only interested in a world where people break outside of the norm, and I believe people do whatever they have to do to relieve themselves of pain. I just want to watch and see how that plays out.

American television is a huge product that is exported around the world and what that means is that what our movies and films say about who women [are] has global ramifications. There is a burden and a responsibility when you are someone who is very aware of how far we've yet to travel in granting women equal rights and equal respect and you are creating cultural products. You have to be responsible and be aware of the message that you are sending out.

When you are trying to get a shot, you can't be pleasing everybody. And I tend to be sort of collaborative and a bit of a pleaser. And when I'm directing, people just sort of call me Black Hat Gabriela. Because suddenly they're like, "What happened to you?" Because I stop listening. And I feel strident. I feel rude. And I feel un-collaborative.