I don't see myself as a crusading feminist filmmaker. Not at all. I have the luxury of coming from New Zealand and I've had moments in my life where being female is considered to be a tremendous advantage - emotionally, career-wise.
I was always stealing 40-gallon drums off the road at night, bringing them back to the workshop and cutting them up with a gas axe because I loved to weld. I would make creatures out of these old metal drums.
I recognised that femininity and strength are not mutually exclusive, and I think that femininity has often been equated with weakness, but we know it's not.
I really value the skill and sensitivity of my collaborators, and I am really interested in - perhaps more so than if I was a male director - the hair, makeup and the textures of the fabric and the wallpaper.
I'm primarily interested in examining human issues.
God knows nobody hated running more than me. Because I was writing and rewriting the script, I thought that I'm going to have to run because I'm going to have to know what it feels like to run.
Look what I know about directing; is it goes beyond gender. You might see some qualities that are inherently female in the great male directors.
You know, what is so curious about being a director is that you never get on anybody else's set and see how they do things.
You know when you work with animals you have to do so very carefully, species by species.
When I was starting out I was way too scared to ask real directors how to do it or ask for advice, I'm really kind of New Zealand like that.
As a kid I was always barefoot, always outside and as an adult I always want to be outside.
I made 'Whale Rider', I saw that to be specific and authentic is to be universal, and I've continued to work in an identical way ever since.
If you look at my body of work, which is not very big, really, it took an evolutionary leap with 'The Zookeeper's Wife'.
In all cases, I will always hire the best person for the job, and it just so happens that many of those are women.
I have a commitment to real worlds on screen. I like working in real communities. I like telling real stories.
It's a privilege to tell stories on film. It can be a great community to live a professional life. All of us that do this work should feel very grateful that we can.
You can start making films as a child. It's become easier to find your groove as a filmmaker, and I'm extremely interested in those voices.
I try to cast actors willing to believe in the world of the movie, who can make an emotional investment in the world we are creating.
I do commit really, really passionately. It's why I only work every five years. It's exhausting.
I believe that the debate of 'Who should tell indigenous stories?' is very important. It's something that should be talked about. I'm totally up for that and if my work can be part of that debate, I'm thrilled.
