- [on starting as a journalist] After I finished high school in Basel, Switzerland, I became a sports reporter. Slowly but surely I expanded my field of interest. As a journalist, I regularly wrote analyses of the political situation in the Middle East. This interest shaped me as a documentarian. Documentary filmmaking demanded one quality that I learned as a sports reporter and political analyst: an inquisitive eye for observing reality. [2020]
- [on The Sky Above, the Mud Below (1961)] I came across Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau, who was a guy from France. He was not very well-known, but he had excellent ideas. It was his idea to make a film in New Guinea. I wanted to make the film to show the people of my world that luxury is not necessary for success. Luxury can help in certain particular instances, but luxury is not a reason to be happy. (...) The subject matter was very exotic, especially for American audiences. Joseph Levine, the legendary distributor, approached me after I won the Oscar and showed interest in distributing my movie in the U.S., but he had no funds to invest in the advertisement. He offered me a generous percentage of the potential income. The film was successful, and it laid the foundation for my film career. (...) It taught me how right I was, that everything depends on the quality of the script. The rest can come, but if the subject matter is not original, and special, and outstanding, you can forget about the whole thing. I spend at least two years until I have a script that is ready to go, and then I make the film. [2020]
- [on the American film market] I came to Los Angeles three times a year to get the feeling of what is of interest. It was very important because America is the main market. In Europe, they listen to America. Especially when it is an unusual film. If you have a film with [Martin] Scorsese and he has two top stars, that is already a giant film. But I'm talking about smaller films. [2020]
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