On ‘Senna,’ it got to the point where there was so much footage that our first editor had the wild suggestion that we only use the archive. – Asif Kapadia
Why make a movie about Ayrton Senna? Someone who drove around in circles at 200mph in a car that looked like a giant cigarette packet? Why would anyone who isn’t already a fan of Formula 1 care? – Asif Kapadia
I used to live in Pillgwenlly, and there was this old Italian pizzeria that used to be there with a really amazing character who ran it. – Asif Kapadia
I don’t have these crazy deadlines. I don’t have this, ‘Oh it’s got to be out tomorrow.’ I don’t like working like that. – Asif Kapadia
I don’t normally make documentaries. I’m a drama director. I’ve made a few short docs, but I don’t like talking heads or ‘voice of God’ narrators. – Asif Kapadia
My team and I used the actual footage to create a three-act story of the life of Ayrton Senna. There are no talking heads and no voiceover. Senna narrates his own epic, dramatic, thrilling journey. – Asif Kapadia
A big part of my filmmaking is that I can go somewhere new and, visually, be excited by it. – Asif Kapadia
I often make films about subjects I don’t really know much about. Maybe it’s laziness, but I don’t go in there having done a tonne of research; the research happens while I’m making the film. – Asif Kapadia
The worst thing ever for me is go see a movie, and the next day I go, ‘What did I do last night? I have no memory of this $300 million movie I watched because I felt nothing.’ – Asif Kapadia
I’d always intended to make ‘Far North’ straight after ‘The Warrior.’ We had the rights to the short story, the script was in development, and I knew where I wanted to shoot it. It just took a long time getting the script together and raising the finance. – Asif Kapadia
Weirdly enough, I live in London – was born there and have lived there all my life – but I hadn’t made a film in London for a long time. I hadn’t found the right subject. I liked going away, to some far flung place. – Asif Kapadia
There’s this great TV show we have called ‘Later… with Jools Holland’, a live-music show on Friday nights. Anyone and everyone’s been on it. – Asif Kapadia
As much as I love creating entertaining visuals, I love toying with the pace of a movie and trying to perfect that. It’s imperative to the impact: faster cuts, cuts at the right moments that meld with the tenor of a scene. Creating and maintaining that feeling. – Asif Kapadia
There are no drivers like Formula One drivers. They are engineers, in a way. They are driving manual cars one-handed at 200 miles per hour around streets in Monaco. These cars use the ultimate in technology. – Asif Kapadia
Boxing is made for film – there is corruption, violence, tragedy and the chance that the underdog can catch the champion with one lucky punch. – Asif Kapadia
I wanted to make a film that wouldn’t just appeal to Formula One fans. That’s what the great sports documentaries do – ‘Hoop Dreams,’ ‘When We Were Kings’ – they’re human dramas first, sport second, if at all. – Asif Kapadia
You don’t have to be someone who likes walking a tightrope across the Twin Towers to watch ‘Man On Wire.’ – Asif Kapadia
I worked with Michelle Yeoh on my last film, ‘Far North,’ and her partner is Jean Todt; at the time, he ran Ferrari. So I went as a VIP to the British grand prix. – Asif Kapadia