Making movies is an effort is an attempt to leave a trace of your existence.

My goal is to make as many films as possible about different aspects of American life.

I don't like to read novels where the novelist tells me what to think about the situation and the characters. I prefer to discover for myself.

I'm very careful of not being critical of other people's movies, which work in different styles. I think some of my movies can be interpreted as critical of their subjects.

I'm in no way suggesting that I succeed, but it's inspiring to read somebody who does succeed and from whom, in a general way, you can draw examples and nourishment and sustenance.

I'm too busy to be nostalgic, which is one of the reasons to keep busy. I'm not a very sentimental person.

Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real life, because you learn to be extremely attentive.

Anybody whose mind is functioning at all can't be content with the way the world works.

In moviemaking, you learn to pay attention to detail, because so much is in the detail. And when you're shooting, you try to be very alert to what's going on, even if you're tired.

I do not think that my films or films by any other filmmaker represent "THE TRUTH." I do not feel the need to categorize my films or anyone else's.

It is always a problem to know what an image means.

Every sunrise gives you an opportunity to begin again.

People will speculate about what they want, but that is not my intention.

Touching people is very rewarding to me.

Being your best when your best is needed. The ability to enjoy challenges when things become difficult and to derive exhilaration from them.

Burning natural gas will not save us from climate change. It's the same as burning any other carbon-based fuel.

I understand all the problems for the Ministry of Defence, of course I do; working within a budget and trying to do so many things is not easy.

What is a good enough principle for an American citizen ought to be good enough for the working man to follow.

I do not keep up with the details of particle physics.

I just couldn't stand school. If I went, I'd skip after the first class. I didn't like to be told I had to study and had to do homework. There's a fact that you have to want to learn.

I think to be an amazing actress, you have to be present, you have to be in the moment and not thinking about other things.