Nadine Labaki

I don't like to be feared, and I can't work in conflict, I'm very bad with conflict. I try to avoid it, it paralyzes me.

I've never felt that my job was difficult because I'm a woman. It's a difficult job regardless, and it's even more difficult in Lebanon because there's no film industry. There's no structure, funding, or institutions for filmmakers.

Lebanon is not only burning buildings and people crying in the street. When you say 'Lebanon,' especially to foreigners, that's the first thing they think of.

It's very important to me to understand myself and my place in the world. My films help me with that, and the more people see them, the more I am making a statement.

I am a woman. I definitely have a woman's perspective. I'm also a mother, and I think, because of that, I feel responsible to try and make a difference.

I think of myself more as a director than as an actress. But I do like to perform and express myself in different ways, and I'll keep on doing so, provided I can find interesting roles.

Critics' points of view can be one thing today and be very different in a few years.

Films can make you dream. They allow you to imagine a different world. It's why I decided to become a filmmaker. I wanted that even though it seemed impossible.

Making movies is what I'm good at. Cinema is the means through which I can best express myself.

I have learned to do what I want without hurting anyone. I've learned how to get away with it, with everything. I'm getting away with what I'm trying to do on film but also in my own way.

Beirut turned into a war zone in a matter of hours. We were stuck at home, the roads were blocked.

I like to believe that my actors are not acting. That whatever they are doing, or whatever has been said, would happen in real life.