Encouraging young people to believe in themselves and find their own voice whether it's through writing, drama or art is so important in giving young people a sense of self-worth.

Genuinely good people are like that. The sun shines out of them. They warm you right through.

There's room for all sorts of magic and miracles in this world - that's what I think.

There's a mouse in here with me. He's sitting there in the light of the lamp, looking up at me. He seems as surprised to see me as I am to see him. There he goes. I can hear him still, scurrying about somewhere under the hayrick. I think he's gone now. I hope he comes back. I miss him already.

Any story you write about war, or film you make about war, is bound to be political whether you like it or not.

Everyone is interested in war, in that people don't want it to happen. I'm much more interested in peace than in war but it's important to understand why we fight.

I could believe only in the hell I was living in, a hell on earth, and it was man-made, not God-made.