Quotes

[About directing his film "The Warrior" in a desert in Rajasthan] "The crew suffered the odd illness along the way; dehydration, sunstroke, heat-stroke, malaria, dysentery, scorpion stings, being bitten by rabid dogs, the usual kind of thing."

I made three short films of my own which I wrote, produced, directed ... you did everything in those days. My favourite one was something I shot on VHS ... a little documentary. I used to live in Pillgwenlly and there was this old Italian Pizzeria that used to be there with a really amazing character who ran it. It was really just a starting point. You're only as good as what you've got to show, and so it gave me that first piece of work that could lead me on to do some more studying, where I could make another film that I could just improve on and keep pushing myself.

[on his documentary about Formula One racer Ayrton Senna] Senna was an incredibly charismatic figure.Some people are inspired by him because they feel he was the best driver motorsport has ever seen. Some see his compassion for other people, and some might just think he's very good-looking. But there was something special about him, and it's that distant look in his eyes. I think Senna was a person who went on a journey, and God was part of that journey. My job was to capture the moments along the way.

In recent years, I've obviously become more known for doing docs, which are a very different side of my brain. But in my mind they're all part of the same universe. They are all about stories from distant places and often outsiders taking on a corrupt system.