Group think and groups in general allow you to more fully give yourself to something other than yourself and your betterment - to feel a sense of belonging. Now is this a good thing? I don't know, but it's something that is longed for, at least by me.

Zal Batmanglij

I'm just interested in carving out a meaningful life.

I don't know if any specific religion is the one to subscribe to. I'm not saying, one way or the other. I don't want to get involved in that. But, I think having faith in this experience we are having as a group of people on Earth helps a lot.

Zal Batmanglij

Religion Faith Experience

It doesn't really matter what someone's hair looks like or if the sound is perfect. Every director who's made a couple of movies knows that, because you can replace the sound. Or, like, any one shot is not that important, because they all add up together.

Zal Batmanglij

Movies You Who

On 'Sound of My Voice,' I was the first and last word, which is kind of a dictatorship. I like collectives, though.

Zal Batmanglij

Word Which Voice

It took us nine months to write 'The East'; we didn't start writing it on the computer until seven and a half months into it.

Zal Batmanglij

Art Writing Write

I went to graduate school for directing at AFI in L.A., and I wanted to be a director.

Zal Batmanglij

Wanted Want Tin

No one dives a dumpster like a rich kid dives a dumpster, because there's no shame.

Zal Batmanglij

Use Us T

Marvel's storytelling is much wilder than 'The OA's,' but no one talks about that.

Zal Batmanglij

Wilder Wild Tory

What I'm drawn to most as a filmmaker are these tribes that are seen as 'fringe' cultures. We live in a society where many young people feel alienated, and these family constructs are an antidote to that.

Zal Batmanglij

Society Family Young People

The first time I ever tried edamame, I thought it was gross. I didn't understand the hairy skin. It didn't taste good to me. Now I scarf down a bowl of edamame when I sit down at a restaurant, and I don't think twice about it.

Zal Batmanglij

Time Good Car

Even in 'The OA,' we had to follow Guild requirements and put 'directed by' and the credits, and I'm embarrassed to put my name every time. I mean, who cares. Look it up on the Internet if you want to know who made it.

Zal Batmanglij

Time Men Car

We want to make a 100 million dollar movie that we have created, in the way James Cameron or Chris Nolan does. It's so inspiring when high-quality auteurs are writing and directing those movies. That's pretty cool.

Zal Batmanglij

Movies Cool Writing

'Terminator' is one of my favorite films, and so is 'Terminator 2.'

Zal Batmanglij

Terminator Term T

Whatever you think of Edward Snowden, it took bravery to do what he did.

Zal Batmanglij

War You Whatever

You just have to make sure you keep living your life, challenging yourself, putting yourself in unusual experiences, thinking about what you're interested in doing, and going there.

Zal Batmanglij

Life Experience Yourself

I remember being a kid, I was a little kid when my dad took me to 'Munchausen.' I guess he took my whole family, but I kind of didn't want to go for some reason. Then we got there, and I was so mesmerized by the movie, and I was really taken by the young Sarah Polley. I didn't realize until many, many years later that it was Sarah Polley.

Zal Batmanglij

Family Young You

I always think that 'Sound of My Voice' is a movie about the crumbs in 'Hansel and Gretel.' You know, those crumbs. It's about finding your way out of the claustrophobia and alienation of modern life.

Zal Batmanglij

Life Your You

At AFI, you make three cycle films your first year, and then you make a thesis film your second year, and I watched Darren Aronofsky's cycle films and was blown away - there was a young Lucy Liu, who was just part of that generation. And I just wanted to be part of that tradition.

Zal Batmanglij

Art Your Young

I think that the campaign that Fox Searchlight has thrown for 'Sound of My Voice' honors the film's roots and the film's integrity, and I don't think it overwhelms the film at all.

Zal Batmanglij

Voice UN Thrown

Existing outside of irony is so hard.

Zal Batmanglij

Tin T Sting

People are frustrated all over the country, whether they're in Oklahoma or Oregon or San Diego or San Francisco or L.A. or D.C. or New York or Omaha or wherever.

Zal Batmanglij

The beauty of Netflix is, their job is to put stories out there, and not stories that appeal to everybody, which is maybe NBC's job?

Zal Batmanglij

Actors love to do extreme things, so that is why they become actors; otherwise, they'd be novelists.

Zal Batmanglij

The art house is an elitist idea.

Zal Batmanglij

It's so hard to shoot wealth. It doesn't show up on film.

Zal Batmanglij

If you really want to have an anarchist experience, make a movie with a studio.

Zal Batmanglij

It's awesome to be part of a gay family.

Zal Batmanglij

You think it's so cool to have movie stars in your movie, but they become people.

Zal Batmanglij

I think if aliens came to Earth, we would laugh. If there was an alien technology, we would laugh.

Zal Batmanglij

I think disparaging something you don't understand, while a very normal thing - I expect more from serious people.

Zal Batmanglij

I hate Q&As. They make me feel awkward.

Zal Batmanglij

We entered 'Lucid Grey' into the Georgetown festival on April 27, 2001. Now 'Sound of My Voice' is opening on April 27, 11 years later. It couldn't have happened in a more perfectly cinematic way.

Zal Batmanglij

We would meet truck drivers, and they were like, ''Orange Is the New Black' is my favorite show.' And we're like, 'What? This looks like a Red State, Trump-voting guy, and he loves 'Orange Is the New Black?'' I think that's the power of storytelling.

Zal Batmanglij

It's funny how you never know who you're going to share your life with.

Zal Batmanglij

'The Terminator' is grounded in so much realism. It's again a story that centers around a woman that isn't a 'woman's picture' necessarily. I found it really thrilling, both 'Terminator 1' and '2.' When you watch it it's such fine storytelling.

Zal Batmanglij

I thought 'Gone Baby Gone' was really modern in showing a couple going on an adventure.

Zal Batmanglij

I love James Cameron. I love what he does.

Zal Batmanglij

When I was 17, I grew from being something like 5'2'' to 6 foot - I grew a lot - and I don't remember growing... I feel like the same thing is true of writing. You're waiting for Santa Claus to come down the chimney, but you just fall asleep at some point, and then the magic happens.

Zal Batmanglij

'The East' could easily be a TV show.

Zal Batmanglij

Nobody can seem more politicised and glamorous than the baby-boomers. But their kids are surprisingly robust and late bloomers.

Zal Batmanglij

The country gets so beat up in the media. It's worth remembering how much we love America.

Zal Batmanglij

The best dumpster meal I has was the first one I had.

Zal Batmanglij

We lived on anarchist farms, squatted in the inner city, and hopped rail cars. We wanted to see how other young people were creating meaning from their lives.

Zal Batmanglij

Group think and groups in general allow you to more fully give yourself to something other than yourself and your betterment - to feel a sense of belonging. Now is this a good thing? I don't know, but it's something that is longed for, at least by me.

Zal Batmanglij

I think if there's anything 2016 has taught me, it's that we have a real hard time with women in our society; we have a hard time with the feminine.

Zal Batmanglij

I'm a gay man of colour.

Zal Batmanglij

Violence doesn't interest me very much.

Zal Batmanglij

'Sound of My Voice' had been written before 'Another Earth.'

Zal Batmanglij

I like how collaborative and cult-like filmmaking is. It's really family-oriented, tribe-oriented.

Zal Batmanglij

I remember in grade school having a group of friends and enjoying that sense of community, enjoying living in an imaginary world that wasn't just by yourself or your sibling but a whole group of people.

Zal Batmanglij