To me, the best projects are the ones where you have a pretty good idea of what the spine of it's gonna be, but then all sorts of things happen that you could've never predicted, and those are the magic moments of the films.

Of course no documentary is completely 'objective.' Every decision you make - who to interview, how to edit, where to hold the camera - imposes a point of view on the film.

When you are interviewing someone, never let your camera person turn off the camera. The second you turn off the camera, they'll say the magic thing that you'd been looking for the whole interview. People want to relax after the performance is done. Don't be afraid of awkward silence. That is your friend.

I'm looking for a charismatic character - somebody who you just want to look at and listen to and whom the camera likes. I'm also looking for a narrative arc: Something is going to happen, and there will be a question that will make you wonder what happens at the end.

I want to be an inspiration, but I would like there to be a day when it is not 'Simone the black swimmer.'

My biggest inspiration is to work with interesting filmmakers and learn from them in any way that I can.

In my heart of hearts my motivation would always have been to be the best, and I think that athletics is probably what I was built for.

Depression and anxiety can't fit in your head if you're cultivating feelings of joy and inspiration.