[James] Baldwin was one of greatest intellectuals of his time. He was an important voice, period, not an important black voice.

Over the years, he disappeared - like a lot of our leaders disappear. [James Baldwin] was not assassinated, but somehow he went through those assassinations as if it was himself. I think that broke him as well.

[James] Baldwin was a revelation for me, the kind of revelation that follows you all your life because you can go back to it. It's not just about stories. It's about philosophy. It's about criticizing the world. It's about deconstructing the world around you.

[James] Baldwin is needed even more today because he helps you focus to the essential, to what is important.

Can you imagine in 2016 there is a discussion about #OscarsSoWhite? Is it a novelty we've just discovered that the whole production machine is dominated by only one type of human being, excluding women, excluding gays, excluding minorities? This is not new.

Today, I don't even think that people like [James Baldwin] are possible. He would not have that much room.

You need to react. That's the absurdity of Twitter. You can react without thinking now.

I just hope that my films will survive me.

The role James Baldwin played in my life is incommensurable as stated above. He helped, along with a few others, to shape the man that I am today. My debt to him is invaluable.

It was really always about bringing back [James] Baldwin's words in all their rawness, in all their impact - in the way he analyzes not only this country but also the history of this country, the images that this country is fabricating through Hollywood, and what consequence that has in our imagination.

There are only one or two geniuses every century.

Just try to be yourself and resist complacency and ignorance. All you can do is work, work work and be disciplined.

Why would anything change that has not been changed since the existence of cinema? [James] Baldwin somehow wakes you up to reality. It takes you out of the dream - or out of the nightmare.