I look for the humanity in people, however big the politics or oppressive the situation may be, whether it's subsumed within a human being or between two human beings. I want to help us hold a mirror to ourselves.

I always like to reveal the fact that the emperor has no clothes. And children are best at that. They teach us how to see the world in that sense. They are without artifice; they see it for what it is. I am drawn to that ruthless honesty.

Americans are not used to being bombed in their beds, but if you come from anywhere outside America, it's not highly unusual.

I am still attracted to stories about people who are considered to be on the outside of society. I still seek inspiration from those stories.

We have three generations at home, including my father-in-law. I keep a very low profile, and a lot of things I do are very much with the family in mind. I have actually made films with the family around me.

I am an independent film-maker first and foremost. I have always cut my own cloth.

Humility is not a trait I often associate with America.