100 Quotes by Debra Granik

When men's lives become extremely hard, women learn how to deal with them and assist them but also develop quiet systems of coping and managing.

There is a porous membrane between a documentary that doesn't use interviews and what you would call a neorealist hybrid film.

I bring forward stories from the lives of everyday Americans: those whose path hasn't been set out on easy street or who haven't been given it all, those who are actually forging ahead because of their own personal resources, their moxie, their survival instincts.

When I'm interested in an aspect of someone's life, I want to ask about their experiences, their survival strategies, and what they do to keep their lives interesting.

I get very caught up in the day-to-day and immersed in the scenes as they unfold. It's harder for me, as I'm filming, to see the larger story.

You have so much more time to observe and learn with a documentary because of the time between the shoots. You get a much deeper understanding of day-to-day life and its themes. It's also much more of a mess after three years; you have to comb it out carefully and see what fits together and makes sense.

All filmmakers want the option to make another film, to have it not always be such an uphill battle - for it to be our life, our working life.

A role is never just a ready-made thing.

I'm looking for a living wage and to continue my work. The frustration comes from when I can't do the things that matter most to me. It's when someone comes and says, 'I will finance your movie if you cast so and so.'