When I worked out I was gay and decided to leave the church at 29.

I vowed never to marry, but we got married as soon as we could after lockdown. I used to think it was patriarchal but when same-sex marriage became legal, I thought: OK, great, this institution has finally changed.

I am so obdurate I do not change my mind.

I woke up this morning thinking maybe I don’t want to be an actor any more, then I had breakfast and I thought: actually, no, I really like being an actor.

But I need to show my work during the process. In the editing room, very often I invite friends and I do some test screenings with friends or people I know: editors, journalists sometimes. I ask them, Is it boring? Is it too long? What do you think?

I think they have no duty. But we do have the opportunity, not to change the world, but to make people think differently.

My original idea for this film was to make a documentary, because I loved the real people who told me their stories.

I feel myself still like a student learning many things doing films.

I would be able to shoot even more if I didn’t have the promotion and all these kinds of things to do. I would do it like Fassbinder — seven films a year — if I could. Making films is a pleasure for me.

But I don’t want to repeat myself. And I realised that in America, the producer is the master of the film and the director is just a technician.