What's the absolutely necessary ingredient to be a good director and screenplayer?

A practice. You can start writing drama and screenplays when you know what theatre is, what film is, how it works. Since I am participating in this festival with a script, I would rather talk about filmmaking. I started by writing scripts for television series, I worked on several series, there was one series where I wrote 156 episodes alone, they were fifty-minute action films. And because that work required me to be on the set, that's where I learned most. What rhythm a scene should have, what dialogues should be spoken, and what should be left to the actor's performance. Here, while writing the script, you have to think about the acting all the time, you mustn't say everything, because you'll kill the tension, you'll lose the mystery. Later, when I started directing, the scriptwriting got better, because I always imagined what I was writing in the film. But practice is not enough. You have to watch a lot of good films, choose a director you believe in and learn a lot from his films. Young people are coming to me with their scripts nowadays, but they are not good because they lack practice and a passion for a certain style of film. In such cases, I try to involve talented young people in the making of the film, so that they can learn what a film really is.

First and last cinematographic crush?

My first defining cinematic experience was the Bob Fosse film ALL THAT JAZZ, it defined my career. And most recently I saw a wonderful Dominican film that was honest, beautiful.

How old were you when you decided you wanted to be a director and screenplayer?

I was sixteen when I wrote my first theatre drama, which was produced. Then, as the years went on, I thought more and more that playwriting and screenwriting were brothers, just different forms of expression. The content is the same.

For you a Film is...

...is the continuation of a feeling of life, a pain, a joy in art.  It's an opportunity to communicate to a lot of people what I think about the world, what I think about a situation, a human relationship. Either that or it's the continuation of a dream. I dream something that is mine alone at the beginning, and I make a film of it for others to experience.

What do you feel when you're directing or writing?

As a director I work a lot and I see directing as a game. A wonderful actor once said to me on set that I feel like a kid in a toy store when I'm working and directing. Because I always try to surround myself with talented people, be they actors, cinematographers, editors or whatever - directing with talented people is not work, it's fun and play. Very serious play. After all, the audience always goes to the cinema to play, they don't necessarily want to see reality, they see it on the street and at home.

Audrey Hepburn used to say "Nothing is Impossible", what do you think about it?

I totally agree with that. Because there is always a solution to every situation. Just have the patience to find it. The human imagination is infinite, I never give up. And I don't like to work with people who say "it's impossible to do that." I get rid of those people. I'm only interested in people who have at least one answer to every question, but it's good to have two or three. There is no such thing as a lost cause, only a man without hope. And he who gives up hope gives up his life.

Can you live just of your passion?

I can live only from passion. One must love, work, learn with passion. You have to love your family with passion. You have to love your lover with passion. I can't imagine life without passion. But I see now that I have misunderstood the question: yes, I can make a living writing and directing.

What's more important talent or luck?

Talent is more important. And luck either comes or it doesn't. A talented person is talented because he can achieve his goal without luck. And for such a person, luck is not an accident, but a gift.

You must go to a desert island but you can bring with you just one movie...

Director Ethan Coen's BURN AFTER READING is a film to keep me laughing. Of course, the question is, on a desert island, what device do I play it on?

Have you ever accepted a part/ a movie to direct/ a script to write even if you didn't like the project?

I never accepted it, even if it would have cost a lot of money. It's when work comes along that I don't feel comfortable doing or feel it's below a certain standard. My wife is my partner in this and I ask her if I should take on such work. She always tells me not to take it.

What's the best compliment you have received about your Job?

That for a man I write or direct very good female characters in my films. And women have said that.

Are you satisfied about your career?

Career? It's a miracle that I'm alive. But yes, I'm satisfied because I did everything I could. I don't feel lacking.

Do you have a good luck charm?

Yes, I have many objects that I think bring me good luck, that help me in my work. And I keep them with me.

Which is the worst moment on set ?

The end. The end of a good job. The joy of several days or several weeks is over - that's the worst moment. There is an old Italian proverb: "after intercourse, all animals are sad." Something like that.

Have you ever lied to get a job?

Never.

If you should win an Oscar your first taught would go to...

I'd say I'm glad I'm an independent filmmaker. Because independence equals freedom. And the most important thing is to be free inside. Every artist, every creator.