Garth Davis

I always want to work on things that really scare me and interest me at the same time, and you know, I definitely had some projects in the past that did that, but the stars never aligned in getting them up. So 'Lion' was another project that really interested me, and the stars did align on this one. It just happened to be my first film! ”

There's no doubt that 'Lion' is an audience pleaser. I mean, I went to a lot of research screenings all over, in London and America and Australia, and the results were ridiculous, and the crowds were... they just loved the movie, so for me, my job is done. ”

I loved 'Monsoon Wedding' and 'Lunchbox' because they had 'real' stories. I wish there are more films made like them. ”

I definitely storyboard, but I only start once I have cast and location. I like to find the world first. ”

I like to be involved with the scriptwriter early on, helping shape the story, and working out how the story can be told directorially. ”

Audiences are smart, and they don't need to be spoon-fed everything. ”

I love going to the cinema and thinking you're seeing something, and you end up on a whole other planet, and you can't believe it. ”

Most of the available Indian films in Australia are Bollywood. I did not watch them. In my early days, I watched Satyajit Ray's 'Apu Trilogy,' which was a beautiful take on social realism. ”

I'm very drawn to the human condition and the emotional aspects of stories. It's what's not on the page that I get excited about. ”

My whole approach is very much about using the locations as a world, trying to find the beauty in the time of day we shoot or the ugliness of it, in cases. ”