I have actually been very fortunate to be able to make films on my own credit card without having huge funders behind me dictating how the story should be told.

It's incredible to see the creativity, beauty and hardships people capture when filmmaking is opened up and shared with the world.

I'll continue making films because I love being able to drop into other people's worlds. My goal is to be constantly learning.

I'm interested in characters that are complex people.

In making films, I'm constantly looking for people who are in conflict and who are going to surprise you and challenge you.

It's important in any project to remain focused.

When I hear the words 'activist filmmaking,' I think of somebody who's an activist, who wants to prove a particular point.

You know, Arabs are critical of United States foreign policy, but they also associate the U.S. with democratic principles and opportunity.

Al Jazeera is demonized by the United States, yet in Egypt my father would be watching it.

I've discovered I can't make a film about people I dislike.

Al Jazeera is one entity that everyone across the Arab world watches. Arabs are proud of that.

A true leader leads for the sake of love and his knowledge of the path, a bad leader redirects his followers to the path of destruction.

Useless to tell myself that a dreamand the memory of yesterday are the same thing

Tranquillity hides in small spaces, and when found needs to be treasured, because you know it's a phantom that will slip away again.

I'm quite happy to be thrown around and hopefully my leg will stay on.

I think it's good to tell the fans "this movie's going to lead to that, and that will lead to..."

The opposite of love is indifference to the genuine needs of others.

In order not to suffer, you had to renounce love.

As Spectator I wanted to explore photography not as a question (a theme) but as a wound.

The process of change does not occur on superficial levels, through mere 'positive thinking.' It involves exploring, discovering, and changing our deepest, most basic attitudes toward life.

I never had any film training. I went to Northwestern. I studied education and theater. So it was all theater training.