What you hope, what you're trusting the filmmaker to do, is to capture the emotional truth of the situation.

I felt like the universe was tapping me on the shoulder saying, "You're the guy who has to tell this story because nobody else is."

Life is much more complex than the black-and-white sound bites that you get on television. There are nuances and shades of gray.

You have to remain open to the situation that you're filming otherwise you might miss the story.

If people spend two hours thinking about the direction of their own lives and can relate to the stories they see on screen, to me that's a success.

Any documentary; any capturing of a non-fiction event, is a hyper-realistic condensation of reality that hopefully reveals an emotional truth. It's never the actual literal truth of an event.

I'm a filmmaker who is known for these ambiguous portraits that tell multiple sides of the story without really telling the audience what to think.

The filmmaker is not telling you what to think.

If a concert film is an experience of the musicianship without critiquing it, then this, too, is dropping you into a world and letting you experience it.

I'm an observer in life, not a participant. That's why I'm a documentarian who looks through a camera. I'm not a touchy-feely person; I'm not a seminar person.

The world is watching, and you better be fair.

The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.

...the women of this nation in 1876, have greater cause for discontent, rebellion and revolution than the men of 1776.

I came into the world two months too soon, I was in such a hurry.

This sport is just crazy. Your worst enemy in college is your teammate and friend when you get to the NBA. Who would have thought it?

A women under stress is not immediately concerned with finding solutions to her problems but rather seeks relief by expressing herself and being understood

Observe constantly that all things take place by change.

Nothing is more beautiful than a line that brings out a form.

Awakening in the morning returns us to life, and to awareness of death.

You can't write good satirical fiction in America because reality will quickly outdo anything you might invent.

Dreams fade with morning light, Never a morn for thee, Dreamer of dreams, goodnight.