It's almost scary how stylish things can look if you take the color out - how much more you see the essence of things and how much more something can appear elegant.

Any film that supports the idea that things can be changed is a great film in my eyes.

If anything, I see myself as a witness. I'd also be pleased, if you'd call me an interpreter. I try to hear and see the message of a place and pass it on, into that other language, the universal one of images.

The most important question for me when I begin working on a film is where to start. For a book, what makes you convinced there is a story that is worthwhile?

Sex and violence was never really my cup of tea; I was always more into sax and violins.

For years all I seemed to be doing was lobbying politicians and others to persuade them that European culture needed movies, and that we had to protect it.

Entertainment today constantly emphasises the message that things are wonderful the way they are. But there is another kind of cinema, which says that change is possible and necessary and it's up to you.