52 Quotes by Gavin Hood

Without what you did, we would not have been able to make this film together as South Africans in a free country.

We are excited to be in Cape Town.

Although it seems to be a ghetto movie, it very quickly becomes a much more intimate story, the story of this young, teenage, lost, crazy, out-of-control kid and a baby that he hides from his friends.

You don't want to make a big deal out of it because it sounds indulgent. But the fact of the matter is that, for all South African filmmakers, because we don't make a lot of films, you feel an unrealistic pressure that your film has to say so much and has to be about everything in South Africa.

This may sound melodramatic but I have never, ever worked so hard. The film will be released in a different country every week for the next six weeks. I've just come back from Germany, France and Sweden to be in LA for the nominations and to speak to the American press.

It's a rough mess, so anyone who buys it is getting a poor-quality version.

The first question after every screening is, 'Where can I buy the soundtrack?', and that definitely helps the movie.

You have to separate artistic ability from ethnic origin. Not only am I not black, I am also not a woman, therefore how can I direct women? I am also only 42, therefore how can I direct someone who's 60? So you see where the argument ends up? If you take it to its logical conclusion, I would have to walk around and point a video camera at myself. And who the hell is interested in that?

I am a story-teller working with a craft. My job is to use my craft - which is a different thing to my race - and tell a story well.