If you don't deal with your shadows, you are condemned to repeat the same mistake over and over, as a human being or as a society.

Cinema is an art form that is designed to go across borders. And as a filmmaker, the only way I can direct a movie is when I feel close to my culture.

My movies are very often violent and dark, but there's a spectrum of light, and that light is coming from the women.

'2001: A Space Odyssey' is a movie that really impressed me as a teenager. And also 'Blade Runner.' And 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' is also one of my favorites. I'm always looking for sci-fi material, and it's difficult to find original and strong material that's not just about weaponry.

Sometimes you have compulsions that you can't control coming from the subconscious... they are the dictator inside ourselves.

I think I'm attracted to subjects that I'm afraid of. It's a way to approach things I am afraid of, things that bring fear in my heart, and try to understand them, try to deal with them. It's like demons. I try to approach it and understand it... I'm just visiting fears.

I think a good director is a good listener.

Cannes is the oldest film festival in the world, and I've long dreamed of having one of my films there in competition. It's a dream that lay dormant for a long time; I stopped believing in it.

In contradiction and paradox, you can find truth.