The universe couldn’t care less about us, and I hope I never have to call upon it for assistance.

The most important thing to say about editing is that it isn’t a technical process. It comes from something much deeper, from an understanding of the vision behind the images and the story you need to tell. If you don’t have that, your work will be subject to whims and continual fumbling. The danger of digital non-linear editing is the ability to

The father of Jacob Wein, who played Benjamin, gave me a book of Jewish legends in which I found the story of the “unknown just.” In every generation, so the legend goes, there are born among the Jews thirty-six men who God has chosen to bear the burden of the world’s suffering, and to whom he has granted the privilege of martyrdom. These men are

We met up in Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe, which is a twin island with a narrow isthmus between the northern and southern part. The entire southern part was evacuated. The first thing you notice in the jungle is the sound of birds, but they had all fled from the island and the place was deadly silent. All the snakes had slithered down from the

Academia stifles cinema, encircling it like a liana vine wraps round a tree, smothering and draining away all life. Construct films, don’t deconstruct them. Create poetry, don’t destroy it. Whenever I encounter film theorists, I lower my head and charge.

“Of course, we can’t disregard the factual; it has normative power. But it can never give us the kind of illumination, the ecstatic flash, from which truth emerges.”

I don’t believe in fate and destiny, but I have great faith in probability; I make sure that whatever I do puts me firmly on the side of safety.

When things become difficult some people find solace in music and religion, but when I read my diaries so many years after I wrote them, what became evident was that in the turmoil of production I took refuge in language. It has forever been a powerful anchor for me, and I suspect that my true voice emerges more clearly through prose than cinema. I

In Incident at Loch Ness you see my wife – who is from Siberia – and me sitting quietly. It’s a Russian custom. Before you go on a trip, after all the running around and packing, stop for a moment so you leave from a point of complete stillness. It makes for a safe and pleasant journey.