The film from the beginning is not the real world; it's an imaginary world. And this imaginary world is both inside and outside the normal world.

It seems to me that [my films] are talking about very simple and, I hope, universal feelings. And at the same time, even though they are set in a very weird world with elements that are irrational, at the same time, it's very close to an ordinary world. And I like to have this third feeling of mystery.

I try to simplify things for the children.

I think sometimes there are films where I understand what they are about, but there are also some mysterious areas in the film where I haven't got the whole image and I haven't got everything. And then it stays much longer with me, because I have to somehow put myself much more into the film to get it. And so this is what I'm trying to do with my films.

I am very much interested in fairy tales. I guess that most of the films I like to do have this kind of aspect.

I try to simplify things for the children. For instance, [I arrange] for them to have almost no dialogue, or to somehow give them very precise indications, because usually they ask for that.

What is very exciting with children is they like to play, and they don't care so much about the meanings [of things], and they are just excited to have weird scenes to do or weird things to do, like playing deaf, or playing sick, or swimming in the water.