I'm interested in discontinuities and interruptions, people having to rewrite the narrative of their lives because of sudden changes.

I was interested in the narrative of how we nurture our elite in this society: all that stuff about believing in yourself and not accepting second best. Our inner world is at odds with that.

I'm looking for an intensity of focus. It's a bit like tuning a guitar string. You tighten and tighten, and nothing really changes until you hit that tension, and suddenly it's there: you've got a note.

I don't think of myself as doing good works. It's not, 'Oh, I must give these poor people a voice.'

A big part of filmmaking is gathering a group of people you can work with.

I can think back to being four or five and not wanting to sit at the kids' table because I thought it was demeaning. I was this ridiculous little kid.