Dee Rees

It's a failure of imagination if you can only write what you know - we have to be able to imagine different…

— Dee Rees

The enemy is the system. And the system is made up of people, and we have a choice in that.

— Dee Rees

Before Charlottesville, it might have been easy to dismiss the plot of 'Mudbound' as no longer relevant. Now, I feel like audiences…

— Dee Rees

Each moment is defined by a multitude of histories, the past constantly converging upon us, perpetually decaying and reforming itself on the…

— Dee Rees

For me, books were my source of affirmation. Alice Walker, Audrey Lord - it was these authors who wrote about their experiences.…

— Dee Rees

Writing is really freeing because it's the only part of the process where it's just you and the characters and you are…

— Dee Rees

Filmmaking in general is my second career. I thought that writing wasn't practical, so I went to business school and got an…

— Dee Rees

I'd go to lesbian parties. I felt like I wasn't hard enough to be butch, but I wasn't wearing heels and a…

— Dee Rees

I had originally written 'Pariah' as a feature, and we shot the first act as a short film, and then we used…

— Dee Rees

You don't get to hand footnotes to the audience or explain what you were trying to do and what it's supposed to…

— Dee Rees

For me, Sundance always felt big. It's not the only way to make your way, but for me, it was definitely that…

— Dee Rees

When you choose the hard things, it takes longer than you think to get it done, and if you choose the hard…

— Dee Rees

Ultimately, the people [who] are going to help you make your film are the people who believe in you and believe in…

— Dee Rees

My first job was at Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, my second job was at a pharmaceutical company in Berkeley Heights, New…

— Dee Rees

For kids who are struggling, who are of faith, just reconciling yourself to the fact that God loves you, accepts you for…

— Dee Rees

I just want to tell stories that are meaningful and have inspiration to them; people can watch it and take away something…

— Dee Rees

If I can go three grandmothers back and find a slave, that means someone else can go three grandmothers back and find…

— Dee Rees

I wrote poetry and short stories. I would send them to magazines; they wouldn't get in. But short stories are how I…

— Dee Rees

The best thing in the world is to put two characters who hate each other side by side. Or put two people…

— Dee Rees

I want more images onscreen because when I was growing up, I think, like, that one kiss in 'The Color Purple' was…

— Dee Rees

There's a line that runs between everyone and their ancestors, and you cannot sever that. Maybe disassociate from those ideas but not…

— Dee Rees

I grew up in Nashville in a white suburb. We lived next to a Klan member. We didn't see hoods, but my…

— Dee Rees

I'm interested in telling stories about characters that are interesting and who are challenging in some way, one that will make you…

— Dee Rees

I'm always excited about stories that allow me to explore a character and create interesting stories and worlds that we haven't seen…

— Dee Rees

With friendship, it's hard sometimes - you don't outgrow your friends, but you do question how people are friends to you in…

— Dee Rees

Both grandfathers fought in different wars. My mother's father fought in World War II, and then my father's father fought in Korea.…

— Dee Rees

Once your film is done, you can't explain to people what something was supposed to be. You can't give them footnotes. It…

— Dee Rees

I definitely felt the desire to, like - I definitely knew there was an elsewhere. I definitely knew that, like, if I…

— Dee Rees

A producer has to want you. And if the producer trusts you and asks for your vision, it frees you up so…

— Dee Rees