I always think of my films within the context of where aesthetics meet economics. That’s the nature of making art – not being naive about what is possible and getting what you need to tell the story you want to tell. – Ira Sachs
I have been very influenced by the director Maurice Pialat, who I continue to be in conversation and conflict with and get inspiration from. – Ira Sachs
I don’t rehearse with my actors… the first rehearsal is the first time we turn the camera on… Sydney Pollack never rehearsed his actors, and I found out that’s allowed… so you film reactions; you don’t create them. – Ira Sachs
I’ve been close to two or three couples, gay and straight, who have been together for 45 years. – Ira Sachs
I got into filmmaking in order to tell very personal stories, and in this day and age, the opportunity seems all the more precious. – Ira Sachs
I’ve always been interested in how the individual comes to know and accept him or herself, which I think has been hard for me. – Ira Sachs
What I loved about ‘Goodfellas’ is that it’s a film about bad behavior – but told with great energy and without judgment – but it doesn’t actually shy away from the consequences of that behavior in the characters’ lives, which I think is similar in ‘Keep the Lights On.’ – Ira Sachs
I grew up thinking there was something called ‘independent film,’ which I wouldn’t necessarily have had access to if there wasn’t Sundance. – Ira Sachs
As a filmmaker, you realize that places have character based on their history as much as a face does or an actor does. – Ira Sachs
I realize I have strength as an artist and professional by embracing my difference instead of what makes me the same. – Ira Sachs
‘How to Survive a Plague’ is history-telling at its best. It’s a film I’ll show my two children, now toddlers, when they are old enough to understand. It’s a movie that I cannot forget. – Ira Sachs
Music Box has proven itself in a few short years to be a cutting edge distributor with a sophisticated understanding of both the market and cinema. – Ira Sachs
I like a film that makes the audience feel like they are in the middle of life as it is moving, and in a way, they are catching up. They are thrown into things. – Ira Sachs
Most simply but profoundly, I chose to live an honest life, which I think as a gay person is not a given. – Ira Sachs
All history is defined by shifting modes of reality and time and how things change. That’s what I love about cinema. It changes in the moment. – Ira Sachs