Quotes from Lynne Ramsay

I think you're always learning how to explore different territories.

I suppose every filmmaker, at least the filmmakers I really like, are amateur psychologists to a degree. Or they come from a psychological approach, I guess.

Gasman' was something I wrote on a beer mat in a pub.

Film school was frustrating for me at first but I met some cool people like Lucia Zucchetti - she was amazing.

I've found that film-making's not just a job, it becomes part of your whole life.

I love the discipline of shooting film, because you don't cover everything, and I'm glad that I learned that way.

I just like working with good actors.

It interests me when I hear people quoting great thinkers, because it's like, OK, but does that make you any brighter?

I hate being safe. There's a lot of easy rides and boring films out there, but I've stuck to my guns. It's not an easy path.

Where you're running out of time, you have these brainwave moments. It's allowing the space to have them, even in an incredibly tight situation.

I find it difficult to write with reference to the most memorable moments in film, when for me the best moments in films are truly irreducible.

Ultimately, you're happiest in yourself when you make your best work.

Where I find things tough is when things are hidden, and people don't say what they mean.

I don't want to become a director for hire.

I don't want to do worldly cinema: 'Hold your breath, this is art.'

When I go to the cinema, I want to have a cinematic experience. Some people ignore the sound and you end up seeing something you might see on television and it doesn't explore the form.

I'm a big believer in cinema, you know - what it used to be? Images and sound, and working it out a bit. I find it exciting watching films where I just go into an impressive world.

When I walk into a cinema, I want to leave with an experience unrepeatable, unquotable and indescribable.

There's something fascinating about record collector minds, hoards of quotes shared and dealt like cards, lines traded, images bought.

I've got a reputation for being difficult, and yet with my crew and my cast, I'm super-collaborative and we get on really well, and they like working with me.

When I was younger, making films was so all-consuming. It was a life-or-death thing. Films still mean so much to me when I'm making them. So I had to get away from that attitude of living or dying with every film, because otherwise you'll go insane.

Straight talking and going on your instincts was important when I grew up. And being funny.

It's a real skill to take a piece of literature and make it in cinema. It's quite a different form, and I think I have to respect that.

I think 'Ratcatcher' broke even as a film, but it got a good critical response. I think that people knew that it wasn't going to be a conventional piece of work, but they were still willing to invest in it. With this material you have to be quite courageous.