Michael Haneke Quotes

I think the documentary is something that people are hungry for, that it embodies careful thought, nuance.

I think it's really the job of the composer, the artist, the painter, the writer to present people with options. I'm just really reflecting the thoughts and actions around me.

Technical skill counts for nothing if it is used only to manufacture films which have little to do with humanity.

I think that our task as filmmakers is to create the most insightful reality given the most pressing questions.

For me, it's always about the work and the stories I'm telling and the slices of life I feel should be illuminated.

What a terrible world it would be if we only did films that were poster boards for political causes.

I pour my blood, sweat, and tears into a movie. What I always look for is a message and a social consciousness: a relevance to what's happening in our world.

Bollywood works as hard as regional cinema makers.

I spent a lot of time doing really unimportant work as an actor. It was important when I started writing that I obviously make it entertaining, or no one is going to go see it - but to really make you think, that is my goal.

The only serious function films can serve is to act as a record of their times.

I'm always thinking about stories and ideas, and I have a few I'd like to actively pursue, but as much as I love them, I love the process of creation, and I want to go on and create things for myself, and create new things.

Filmmaking is not a job but a social responsibility for me.

I've watched Spike Lee's career with interest, and he seemed to be striving for an original and moral point of view.

Cinema is not Bible writing. It doesn't teach you morals, good values to live. Cinema is not meant for that. If you're looking at cinema that it'll tell you good values then you're mistaken.

When you're in a good play and a good production, you find that you're in something that has a life beyond you. You think, 'Oh my goodness, this play's alive.'

As artists we have an extraordinary and rare privilege to tell the stories of our people, our land, our culture. They grip us, tear us apart, and put us back together. We are our stories.

As an artist, I am here to get involved in meaningful films. But that does not mean only films like 'Arabikkadha' should be made. If you give an overdose of such films, the subject will become jaded.

I just make movies and hope people appreciate them.

Artists don't create society, they reflect it

In all honesty, I've written movies that have been made, and the process has not been as satisfying as writing for television.

I am making art. It's not a job that you've gotta show up to and fill in your slot. This is a dream come true. You get the opportunity to say something, to make a piece of art and hang it on the wall forever. Sometimes you're gonna have to take your time.

Art is supposed to spark conversation and make people think.

I think the music reflects the state that the society is in. It doesn't suggest the state. I think the poets and musicians and artists are of the age - not only do they lead the age on, but they also reflect that age. [...] Like The Beatles. We came out of Liverpool and we reflected our background and we reflected our thoughts in what we sang, and that's all people are doing.

I'm not in a contest. I make movies. I'm not a racehorse.

I'm not interested in painting; I'm not interested in making a picture. Then what the hell am I interested in? I must be interested in this process.