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" The only obligation you have as a film-maker is to tell your version of the truth and to use your film to illuminate reality. Whatever that means. "
Kevin Macdonald
Film
You
Truth
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" The tradition has always been that in Roman films, the Romans are always British, and it's usually posh British: Laurence Olivier and his ilk. My take on all this was that it's a metaphor for empire and the end of empire. "
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" With 'Black Sea,' I long had an idea that I wanted to do a film about people stuck on the bottom of the ocean. I thought that was a terrifying scenario. "
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" There were many times during the filming of 'Touching the Void' when I wondered why I had ever thought I wanted to make this film. "
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" For me, what works well about 'Life in a Day' is that it's emotionally affecting without being manipulative. It really does make you think about the connectivity of the world, the similarities and differences. It shows the experiences we all go through: birth, childhood, falling in love, having kids, getting ill, dying. "
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" Most people in Uganda have something good to say about Amin - 'He was funny; he gave us pride to be African.' "
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" I can't claim my grandfather's work has influenced mine directly, but his life certainly inspired me to follow this path. "
Kevin Macdonald
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" People think that the Italians invented neorealism, but actually, Humphrey Jennings did. He was revolutionary in using non-professional actors in his films, and he got extraordinary performances out of them. "
Kevin Macdonald
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" Sometimes people give away more by not saying something. "
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Sometimes
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" Like a lot of expatriate Scots, when you want to be called Scottish, it's useful. I see myself as being without nationality, as a European: my region is Scotland; my nationality is European - isn't that a very Alex Salmond thing to say? "
Kevin Macdonald
Without
You
Myself
" The great thing about making a film on a submarine is that it's kind of like making a play. You've got this limited environment. "
Kevin Macdonald
Environment
Great
Kind
" You can relate to someone with a flaw. "
Kevin Macdonald
You
Someone
Relate
" Despite the limitations of the bulky 16mm camera and 10-minute film magazines, 'The Anderson Platoon' feels as spontaneous and fresh as any films that have come out of the Afghan or Iraq wars. "
Kevin Macdonald
Film
Camera
Spontaneous
" 'Uprising' was one of the first three or four albums I ever bought in 1980 when I was 13, and that had a strong impact on me. "
Kevin Macdonald
Four
Impact
Me
" I'm not particularly ethnically Scottish; I have one grandfather who is Scottish, although he's called Macdonald, and you don't get a lot more Scottish than that. The Scottish part of my family are from Skye, and I've always been very aware of that - always been very attracted to Scottish subject matter, I guess. "
Kevin Macdonald
Grandfather
Always
Family
" I suppose that the Western has always been a kind of mold to which you could pour the concerns of the day, but have them seen in the simple terms of the Western, of one alley or whatever. "
Kevin Macdonald
Simple
Always
Day
" The submarine genre is a category with all its own rules. But shooting on water is famously tough. "
Kevin Macdonald
Own
Rules
Water
" When we made 'Life in a Day,' we asked people around the globe to record their lives on a single ordinary day. When we were cutting that film, we talked about what it might be like if we chose a day that already had significance to people. The result is 'Christmas in a Day.' "
Kevin Macdonald
Life
Christmas
Day
" When you're an outsider and going into a culture like America, it's easier to stay away from any cliches because you're not really aware of what they are. "
Kevin Macdonald
Culture
You
Outsider
" No man, no woman is without their flaws. "
Kevin Macdonald
Without
Woman
Man
" Young people read their news online; they expect to get their news for free. "
Kevin Macdonald
News
Get
Expect
" I don't think life gets any better than sitting in the sun while a legend of French cinema tells you stories about making 'Belle de Jour' and other wonderful films, and eating great food. "
Kevin Macdonald
Life
Great
Food
" The relationship between director and subject can become very intense. It's a bit like therapy, with lots of transferences going on. It's easy to feel guilty. "
Kevin Macdonald
Easy
Become
Relationship
" You can go to places in Africa and Asia and find Marley graffiti. In the slums of Nairobi, you see his lyrics painted on walls, and you realise he has this almost religious significance to the underclass of the world. He's a guy born in a hut with no bed, and now he's probably the most listened-to artist in the world. It's fascinating. "
Kevin Macdonald
Walls
Find
Born
" I always loved digging away at the story, trying to find out things that people don't want you to find out and piecing it all together. I love the treasure hunt aspect of it, the thrill of the chase. "
Kevin Macdonald
Loved
People
Story
" What got me into making movies was that I wanted to be a journalist. "
Kevin Macdonald
Journalist
Me
Movies
" Put someone on a horse looking cold and wet, and they don't have to act. They just are cold and wet. "
Kevin Macdonald
Just
Horse
Looking
" John Lennon made wonderful music, which people listen to as music. Nobody around the world is living their life according to the precepts of John Lennon. "
Kevin Macdonald
Made
Music
People
" I was a teenager in the '80s, and I was always a bit dismissive of Houston, as I think a lot of people who considered themselves 'cool music fans' were. She was poppy, bubble gum, making music not considered very cool. But you can't help but dance to some of those songs or feel emotionally affected by 'I Will Always Love You.' "
Kevin Macdonald
Think
Cool
Dance
" It's so nice to be totally artistically free. "
Kevin Macdonald
Totally
Free
Nice
" The Internet has meant that advertising has migrated; there are hardly any classifieds in newspapers any more because they're all online. If people have a car to sell, for example, they sell it online; they don't go to the newspaper. "
Kevin Macdonald
Car
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