Niki Caro Quotes

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Niki Caro

Profession : Director

Birth : September 20, 1966

Martial arts are inherently both incredibly impressive and incredibly beautiful. And that's my female nature, maybe, and my instinct, to make things beautiful.

Niki Caro

You know, when you make something in live-action, you make it real. And when you are inspired by and determined to honor the original - the most original version of the 'Mulan' story - then you have to acknowledge that this is a story about a young woman who disguises herself as a man and goes to war.

Niki Caro

Fundamentally, the way I work is exactly the same whether I'm making 'Whale Rider' or 'Mulan'. And those two stories are somewhat similar. They have interesting parallels, and it felt like I'd really come full circle, back to a story of leadership.

Niki Caro

I take particular care in authenticity and specificity when working in cultures not my own. Every aspect of the filmmaking here was meticulously researched, and not just by me but across every department.

Niki Caro

I made 'Whale Rider', I saw that to be specific and authentic is to be universal, and I've continued to work in an identical way ever since.

Niki Caro

In all cases, I will always hire the best person for the job, and it just so happens that many of those are women.

Niki Caro

It's a privilege to tell stories on film. It can be a great community to live a professional life. All of us that do this work should feel very grateful that we can.

Niki Caro

As far as people getting into the industry and creative roles as writers and directors, I would say that technology is on your side, and you can tell their stories very easily.

Niki Caro

You can start making films as a child. It's become easier to find your groove as a filmmaker, and I'm extremely interested in those voices.

Niki Caro

There's so many movies, they're just like fast food you consume them and you can't even remember what you just ate. I don't want to make those kinds of movies. I want to make the slow food of movies.

Niki Caro

A film like 'Whale Rider' is equally truthful, perhaps more so, to the Maori experience; Maori people respond to 'Whale Rider' because it's a world that they understand.

Niki Caro

I believe that the debate of 'Who should tell indigenous stories?' is very important. It's something that should be talked about. I'm totally up for that and if my work can be part of that debate, I'm thrilled.

Niki Caro

The Maori culture is different than our culture where we're most likely to introduce ourselves by email or fax and we conduct a lot of business in an impersonal way, whereas for Maori, the only way to do it is to make the pilgrimage and sit down face-to-face and have some tea.

Niki Caro

The problem for me, with most movies for children, is that the filmmakers make the mistake of making it too simplistic. Where a child's world can be very complex, emotionally.

Niki Caro

As a kid I was always barefoot, always outside and as an adult I always want to be outside.

Niki Caro

You know when you work with animals you have to do so very carefully, species by species.

Niki Caro

You know, what is so curious about being a director is that you never get on anybody else's set and see how they do things.

Niki Caro

When I was starting out I was way too scared to ask real directors how to do it or ask for advice, I'm really kind of New Zealand like that.

Niki Caro

I do commit really, really passionately. It's why I only work every five years. It's exhausting.

Niki Caro

I recognised that femininity and strength are not mutually exclusive, and I think that femininity has often been equated with weakness, but we know it's not.

Niki Caro