Lenny Abrahamson

“I think digital is getting so much better. It's harder and harder to make the argument now for film. All things being equal, though, I still prefer to capture on film.”

“Films should have the capacity to bring you into another world.”

“The process of shooting - of choosing shots - is intuitive for me, and I just feel my way towards what seems right.”

“It's something I've noticed with my two children - children frequently know and don't know at the same time. They are aware of aspects of the world that are a little bit shadowy, and they choose not to engage with them.”

“I think people like to have their categories clear. They want to know if it's fiction or fact, biopic or not.”

“Having started in sciences, I then turned around and said, 'Oh, I don't want to do sciences. I want to do philosophy.' And to their credit my parents said, 'if that's what you want to do, then go for it'. Then I got the scholarship to Stanford, which was very nice for the parents to talk to their friends about.”

“When I'm shooting, it averages out at a 16-hour day. You have two deadlines everyday - lunch and wrap.”

“Most of my work has been independent movies outside the mainstream system.”

“I am an unusual Irishman. I'm probably Ireland's third most famous Jewish son.”

“I was interested in the narrative of how we nurture our elite in this society: all that stuff about believing in yourself and not accepting second best. Our inner world is at odds with that.”

“There's so much pressure on kids to perform and to be the best they can be, and particularly with boys: boys who are the gifted ones get loaded with an awful lot of expectation and self-expectation, and that's really hard for an 18 year old.”

“I started to make some commercials, which was a way for me to finally make a living at last. But it was only really a couple of films in that it looked like a viable career option.”

“When you're shooting, there's terrible pressure, and you never switch off. Every day is like the day before an exam; it's relentless.”

“The thing about America - it's different everywhere, but visually, it's amazing to shoot in the desert in the New Mexico light. It's really hard to shoot in that desert and make anything look not amazing.”

“I'm a bit of a late developer, generally. But the good thing about being a filmmaker is you still count as young all the way through your 40s.”

“As with any actor and any collaborator, it's about forming a trusting relationship. And that's not that you have to get him to trust you so you can get him to do what you want. Especially with a little kid, it's about making them feel really safe, and getting to know and not treating them as a puppet to be moved around.”

“The title, the name Frank, comes from this extraordinary British character Frank Friedbottom. He was very big in Britain in the '80s, but I, as an Irish kid, saw him on 'Top of the Charts.'”

“When I read 'Room,' I absolutely loved it, and I thought I knew how to make it.”

“Hollywood is probably the most active centre of film-making in the world, but it's also a very difficult place in which to find your voice... It was also a far more civilised industry in Ireland.”

“I love the cinema, but I'm not a fascist about it. I've had some of my best experiences watching things on TV. But if I were Stalin, I would force everyone to be in the theater.”