Claire Denis Quotes

My interest in filmmaking was always very much the visuals and images.

A film is different than a script. The text of the script is what it is.

I always want to be telling stories in whatever fashion I can, and directing is really just understanding and learning a different element of that storytelling process.

Scripts are very different to books. They are blueprints for building, not the building.

No other aspect of filmmaking has tempted me to do a film other than the script and the story itself.

I've always been fascinated with everything behind the camera and in front.

I am interested in people. I'm interested in telling stories, whether that is behind the camera or in front of the camera.

Cinema is about transferring thought into action.

To do your first film is a dream.

To make a film is easy; to make a good film is war. To make a very good film is a miracle.

I haven't thought about getting into production. I'm interested in the creative aspect of storytelling.

As a director, you try to find what is creative.

I'm someone who has a singular goal in making films: I want to tell a story. There are certain stories that I want to tell.

For me, I see filmmaking as art.

I enjoy looking at words on paper and visualizing how to make them come to life. As a director, the creative process is really amazing.

The great thing about film is you start and finish. It's a journey that lasts so long, TV lasts a long time.

The challenge of film is making it right there at that moment, and then you get to move on.

I think I'm drawn to films more as a director with a directorial mind even as an actor. I make movies to make the films, not to act.

It's not a film-maker's job to explain his technique, but to tell his story the best way he can.

He was such a fabulous drama coach. What better person to have than Alfred Hitchcock? His work as a director was impeccable. I learned so much.

I always saw photography as a way to get to film.

I think film, to me, as a director, is about telling a story.

I don't make movies because I love to act. I make movies because I like to make movies, and I like to be a part of that process.

The technology available for film-making now is incredible, but I am a big believer that it's all in the story.

There are no great scripts - just great films.