Do political films make a difference?

I think some have. Oddly, a lot of food films have made a difference.

Like Supersize Me?

Yes, or Jamie Oliver. I think the reason is that food films are very specific, you can actually measure the change, can’t you? Maybe some other films do influence us a bit, but they are not measurable in an instantaneous way. It is hard to measure perception; it’s hard to measure attitude and change.

Do you think any of your films have made a difference?

Yes, I think – certainly I think a lot of people have changed their opinions about people like Aileen (Wuornos, a notorious American serial killer). They have understood her. Just today I was in the shoe shop down below and the shopkeeper said ‘I saw your Chinese film’. She kept saying, ‘God! It’s so horrible! It’s so horrible!’ So I said, ‘What do you think about the Chinese’ and she said, ‘Oh God! I really got to understand something about the Chinese that I would never have known; I totally saw it from their point of view.’ Which I think is always useful.