“It's the same old story. Nothing in this world happens unless white folks says it happens. And therein lies the problem of being a professional black storyteller - writer, musician, filmmaker.” WorldStoriesProblemHappensLyingBlackWhiteThis WorldMusicianFolksFilmmakerStoryteller Author:James McBride
“Some documentaries are made by people who are driven more by one particular story, or have different backgrounds or ambitions, but I'm always looking for projects that let me be the best filmmaker I can be, and to be stretched and grow further.” PeopleMadeI CanDifferentStoriesGrowsParticularAmbitionProjectsLet MeDrivenBackgroundsFilmmakerBeing The BestDocumentariesBest FilmDifferent Backgrounds Author:Lucy Walker
“Stories in which the destruction of society occurs are explorations of social fears and issues that filmmakers, novelists, playwrights, painters have been examining for a long time.” LongHas BeensStoriesSocialIssuesLong TimeDestructionPainterNovelistsFilmmakerExplorationPlaywrightExamining Author:J. J. Abrams
“I don't like to talk about messages so much with films simply because it's a little more didactic. The reason I'm a filmmaker is to tell stories and so you hope that they will have resonance for people and for the kind of things you're talking about.” PeopleKindLittlesReasonStoriesFilmTalkingMessagesFilmmakerResonanceDidactic Author:Jonathan Nolan
“As a Black woman filmmaker I feel that’s my job: visibility. And my preference within that job is Black subjectivity. Meaning I’m interested in the lives of Black folk as the subject. Not the predicate, not the tangent.[These stories] deserve to be told. Not as sociology, not as spectacle, not as a singular event that happens every so often, but regularly and purposefully as truth and as art on an ongoing basis, as do the stories of all the women you love.” FeelsArtStoriesHappensJobsBlackSubjectsEventsDeserveBasesFolksFilmmakerBlack WomenSociologyPreferenceOngoingSubjectivityVisibility Author:Ava DuVernay
“I keep trying to train myself to stop saying 'filmmaker' and start saying 'storyteller.' We're telling stories.” TryingStoriesTrainFilmmakerStorytellerKeep TryingTelling Stories Author:Christine Vachon
“If you're a fan of American roots music, you won't want to miss 'Awake My Soul--The Story of the Sacred Harp.' Filmmakers Matt and Erica Hinton have done a fine job capturing the history, sound and spirit of this unusual but compelling art form that, trust me, you don't have to be religious to appreciate.” IfsWantArtSoulDoneStoriesJobsFormSpiritSoundReligiousFansMissingFineAppreciateRootsSacredMy SoulAwakeFilmmakerUnusualCompellingTrust MeHarps Author:Eric Zorn
“For me, it's always filmmaker and then character and then story. They're all equally important but if you don't have a great filmmaker, you will not have a great film unless you just get lucky.” IfsImportantCharacterStoriesFilmLuckyFilmmakerGreat Film Author:Channing Tatum
“Dancer, bride, runaway wife, radical filmmaker and pioneer - Shirley Clarke is one of the great undertold stories of American independent cinema.” StoriesWifeIndependentRadicalCinemaFilmmakerDancerBridesPioneersRunaway Author:Manohla Dargis
“What is my intention being a filmmaker? To make as much money as possible, or get as much attention as possible? It's not really either of those things. Now I can tell the stories that I want to tell.” WantI CanStoriesAttentionIntentionFilmmaker Author:James Gunn
“A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” ShouldEndsStoriesOrderMiddleDirectorsShould HaveFilmmakerMovieRacistFilmmakingMovie DirectorBeginning Middle And EndRelay Races Author:Jean-Luc Godard
“If you have to become a filmmaker, find a story that takes you away, and tell that story. Don't think about whether it's going to sell, or whether it's going to make money, or whether it's going to appeal to distributors. Do something from the heart that really matters, and then you'll do something good.” IfsThinkingHeartMatterStoriesSellsMaking MoneyAppealsFilmmakerDistributors Author:Anne Makepeace
“It's not always expected of filmmakers to do stereotyped stories. But one has to be willing to travel to festivals and hook up with people, engage people intellectually about your passion and the kinds of films that interest you, and sooner or later you find people that have the same affinity that you have.” PeopleKindStoriesFilmPassionInterestWillingExpectedFilmmakerSooner Or LaterHookFestivalsAffinityHook Up Author:Haile Gerima
“There are filmmakers like me in different parts of the world that have a story they want to tell, and it's a story that comes out of a certain historical reality within their own life. Then you get committed all the way and however long it takes, stay very committed.” WorldWayWantLongDifferentStoriesRealityCertainHistoricalCommittedLike MeFilmmaker Author:Haile Gerima
“I try not to think of myself as a woman filmmaker. I don't look for women influences. I have noticed in the past few years that there is a certain ceiling that a woman filmmaker can reach. I don't believe that it's sexism per se, but there are certain expectations in the industry about what films should be, how they should be made, what stories they should tell, and it's a habit, it's a tradition.” ThinkingShouldTryingBelieveLooksMadeStoriesFilmCertainInfluenceIndustryHabitExpectationsTraditionDon't BelieveFilmmakerSexismCeilings Author:Signe Baumane