Matthew Heineman

“The story is supposed to change; it's supposed to evolve. In making 'Cartel Land,' I ended up with a much, much different story than I started with.”

“I think we as a society, a global community, we as governments, need to figure out ways to combat ISIS, not just as a military force but as an idea.”

“I have faith in an audience being able to interpret complex material.”

“Bombs are not going to fix ISIS.”

“When you are part of a cartel, you don't have a Costco card that says, 'I'm a card-carrying member of the cartel.'”

“I think in 'Escape Fire,' we really look at the military as a microcosm for the rest of America.”

“I love the challenge of taking these really complicated subjects and trying to humanise them.”

“With newspapers cutting foreign bureaus and budgets shrinking for long-form, investigative journalism, documentary filmmakers are often filling a void nowadays in the media landscape with their ability to spend time with their stories and subjects.”

“I went on a cross-country trip with three buddies to find out what our generation is about. I bought a video camera, started shooting, learned as I went, and ended up with 'Our Time,' a feature-length documentary about what it's like to be young in America. I was hooked.”

“I think health care is incredibly, incredibly important.”

“I don't start out making films with a certain goal in mind.”

“We mainly shot 'Cartel Land' with the Canon C300. The camera was dropped, smashed, hit by guns, in dust storms, torrential rain, and it never, ever failed.”

“I landed a job at HBO, working for two years on the 'The Alzheimer's Project,' which aired in May 2009. I was fortunate to work with a great mentor, producer John Hoffman, and the amazing doc filmmaker Susan Froemke.”

“Sound is the most important thing on any film, especially documentaries.”

“Growing up in the digital age of filmmaking, I'm as guilty as anyone of overshooting.”

“At medical centers such as the Cleveland Clinic and Kaiser Permanente, teams of doctors and nurses provide coordinated care while working for salary instead of getting paid for every procedure.”

“The story of everyday people rising up to fight against evil to protect their families - it's a story that we've seen play out throughout history and across the world today.”