It's true that mostly in the last years, from the moment when Portugal was subjected to this policy of austerity, imposed by Europe, that I think many Portuguese became a little bit more left-leaning, and so did I too, I could not not care about the situation. I had to deal with it in some way.

You know, some people say that Cannes is the worst place in the world to see cinema. It's a paradox. They have the new films , lots of interesting films premiering there for the first time. At the same time it's such a mess and a confusion. You have to run from one screening to another.

I would not describe myself as a left-wing filmmaker. I don't think this is the first thing that would pop into my mind when talking about my work.

Europeans used to be proud to be the advanced form of democracy. Now they're definitely a little bit ashamed because we are seeing that finally, the bond that we had, it was money.

I think that there's a very lucid side in cinema: entering a theater and seeing the film.

My job is just to make the films and then I don't have any strategy.

In general I'm more attached to a cinema that tries not to replicate the real world and life.