The living experience of film only happens when a film is seen, and only within the spectator, because they project their own fears, desires, and fantasies upon those lights and shadows. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
Film is a game of projections upon projections, and the projected image on the screen is a game of light and shadows. There is nothing there; it is the brain that is decoding those things. The film doesn’t have any decipherable kind of meaning if it’s not seen. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
I’m not saying transgender characters should be only interpreted by transgender actors – because that would be as rigid as saying transgender actors cannot play cisgender roles, and that’s not the idea. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
There’s something about using the cinematic device as a tool to connect with dimensions of the world that you don’t know too well, you’re not too familiar with. It’s like a creating a bridge, or a spaceship to travel to the unknown. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
I went to church as a boy, and then I quite quickly stepped away from religion. But I remained fascinated by the need people have for religion. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
In the case of ‘Fantastic Woman,’ I wanted to make it a more complex animal than just a ’cause’ film. Even though I was sympathizing with the character’s struggle, I didn’t want to be trapped at that level – it’s important, but it can be quite basic. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
Cinema is empathy machinery, and we multiply our life experience through cinema. When it is good cinema, it almost counts as a personal experience. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
It’s not that I only want to make films about women, but from my experience, I have been very interested in the women who play these characters. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
Casting is an art, and if you’re interested in people, like I am, casting is essential. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote
I was writing when I was very young, and then I became interested in everything – I wanted to do photography. I wanted to act. I wanted to write plays, and then I wanted to film and to paint, but I felt that film had a condition that reunites everything. Sebastian Lelio Read Quote