I hope I can make Pakistan proud by bringing home an Oscar.

It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from - if you put quality work out there, it will be appreciated.

What good is my parents' wealth and education and upbringing if I'm not contributing to the world?

As filmmakers, you're not working on just one project, you're producing something, directing something, shooting something, and so it becomes hard to do it by yourself.

I'd like to do a film in Canada, but it's too difficult. National Film Board funding takes too long, and there's too much paperwork; by the time the film is approved the topic is dead and gone.

I became a documentary filmmaker because I wanted to make socially conscious films. I never studied filmmaking - everything I have learned has been on the field.

By bringing the voices of the ordinary people faced with extraordinary challenges to television screens around the world, I hope to affect change in one community at a time.

The Pakistani government and its allies must overhaul their policies in Pakistan.

An Academy Award nomination is stuff dreams are made of.

Don't give up your dreams.

I'm generally quite an angry person, and I like to channel my anger toward something creative.

Money spent on good-quality gear is always money well spent.

The reason people use a crucifix against vampires is that vampires are allergic to bull shit.

While it may be true – and probably is – that not all Muslims are terrorists, it also happens to be true that nearly all terrorists are Muslim.

I’ve never lived my life by the expectations society puts on you. When something doesn’t feel right or isn’t going the way it should, I listen to my instincts and change it.

Bravery in simple soldiers is a dangerous trade, to which they have bound themselves to get their livelihood.

I do NOT accept the ephemeral nature of this moment. I'm going to extend it FOREVER! Or at least I'm going to try.

Being an adult means accepting those situations where no action is possible.

I honestly believe that TV generally is obsessed with the ratings battle to the point of cutting its own throat.

This dark brightness that falls from the stars.

When I think about my relationship with America, I feel like a battered wife: Yeah, he knocks me around a lot, but boy, he sure can dance.