Everything encourages you not to tell stories of gay lives. There is no economy yet for that kind of cinema.
— Ira Sachs
For me, every film is actually a form of documentary.
I've been hiding crucial events in my life since I was 13.
All of my films have been autobiographical - it's all I've got to go on.
As a gay person, my life has been marginalized.
I always think of my films within the context of where aesthetics meet economics. That's the nature of making art - not being naive about what is possible and getting what you need to tell the story you want to tell.
Capturing intimacy is pretty much the only thing I'm interested in. That's what excites me and what I find beautiful in movies personally - that almost obscene sense that we shouldn't be this close to these people. I find that very inviting and meaningful as an audience member.
Most simply but profoundly, I chose to live an honest life, which I think as a gay person is not a given.
I've always been interested in how the individual comes to know and accept him or herself, which I think has been hard for me.
I'm not interested in a film about deceit anymore. I think I was always invested in deceit on some level. But it no longer compels me the way it did for so many years.
What's interesting to me is the distinction between my old life and my present life.
New York grabbed me too hard, as did adulthood.
