And at some point in life, usually when it’s too late, you start inquiring. First you think, “Who cares about roots? It’s not a big deal. I can transcend roots and culture.” But then, at a later point in life you think, “God, what else is there?

In fact, we cut out the most spectacular shots. Whenever a shot looked self-consciously beautiful or contrived, it didn’t survive the cut.

As far as I’m concerned, all you really need is a story, with two or three interesting characters, interestingly entangled in an interesting space. You also need some transcendent idea, emotion or urge to carry you through the whole process. The reason why you are doing it in the first place. Of course, in saying “all you need” are these things I’m being disingenuous. “These things” – the heart of your film – are actually the most difficult stuff to come up with. Much more difficult than churning out 90 pages of script.

Be that as it may, the sad truth is that you can’t get financing on 25 pages.