- I know I look small, but it doesn't mean that I'm little.
- If I lose my mind this instant I might have a descent life ahead of me.
- My financial situation? The fountain throws coins at me in pity.
- Professionalism has no gender.
- Do you remember those art classes in kindergarten where everyone drew the sun in the corner of their paper? I drew the sun right in the middle.
- Once you leave home, you don't have it anymore.
- She believed in me more than she was worried about me.
- I'm the best storyteller in my sorrow.
- You broke the parts in me I didn't know existed.
- If you fall in love with a fire, you can either burn to ashes or blaze a trail to the stars.
- I always try to make at least half of my films silent, fill it with scenes with no dialogue. Human condition is universal. Sometimes it's stronger to just shut up.
- One shot is worth a thousand words.
- Protect your vision. There will always be people on set who would not hesitate to overwhelm you with their suggestions and ideas - listen to them kindly, but stay adamant about your own vision. To help yourself keep on track - slave over your Director's Book in pre-production. Put everything you believe in and everything you want your script and scenes to convey in that book and don't ever let it leave your sight. I learn my book by heart and mentally come back to it whenever I go into a new scene - to check my priorities.
- My favorite trick I came up so far: The shot doesn't change, the context does.
- Give your actors freedom to rewrite their lines, let them become your characters and speak from their heart. Kill your babies. Do not marry your script. Script is just a canvas, the best lines are born in the moment.
- Script Supervising for a year or two is the best way to segway into directing. You basically get paid to research other filmmakers' process and learn from their mistakes and (sometimes) breakthroughs. A good Script Supervisor is a good filmmaker, they have to really understand cinematography and editing, and these two fields are the foundation of literally every moving image project ever done. There are films with no actors, or no sound, or no script, but there's no film without image and editing. Remember that. Put it on a sticky note.
- Do not rush into directing. If you've never been on film set in any position other than Director, you're setting yourself to a failure. How can you beat your rivals if you've never seen them in action?
- The dry numbers do state that the majority of people working in film are men. I see that imbalance on some sets, and don't see it on others. It's about how you adjust to it. Joining the boys' clubs was always compelling to me, as I like disruption in general
- Let's talk about the craft. Let's discuss creative decisions, the ways to learn more, and elevate our skill levels. Let's analyze mistakes and successes. Let's be hard on ourselves, for that is the only way to grow.
- I do not think the gap in the independent film world is that bad, I think the big gap exists in a commercial and studio world. There are not enough female professionals getting hired for highly paid positions like Directors or Cinematographers. For some reason people with money still don't trust women. I absolutely love and support what Alma Harel does with Free The Work. Let's just start getting paid for our hard work, right?
- Kathryn Bigelow is a filmmaker who tells stories few men have balls to tell. She makes the most honest and brave films, and the last thing I care about is her being a female. I wish the time will come, when we wouldn't highlight a director being a woman, and judge them as a filmmaker first.
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