I’m drawn to how unapologetically raw Romain Gavras’ work is. There’s no attempt to make things comfortable or digestible. You’re asked to sit with what’s happening, to stay present with the inconvenience, and to really look at real life as it is.

I remember the first time I watched this video very clearly and strangely, it still makes me feel the same every time. There’s something powerful about work that doesn’t wear out emotionally and continues to hit in the same place.

What I love here is the direct access to the emotional worlds of the characters without anything being spelled out. You’re simply inside it. This film was my main reference when I directed ‘Lullaby’.

This was a huge influence on me in my early teenage years. It shaped my attraction to monochromatic worlds and abstract performance visually and emotionally. A lot of my aesthetic instincts started here.

This series represents the beauty of urgency in storytelling. It’s my favorite of all time, especially the episodes directed by Elisabeth Moss. Every time I felt deeply connected to the direction, I later discovered it was hers. From personal experience, directing yourself is incredibly difficult. What she does here is on another level.

Watching this made me think of my partner and cinematographer, Ashraf Dowani, with whom I co-create my visual universe. The film felt familiar to me through its relationship to landscape, cinema, and camera movement, all things Ashraf deeply loves.

Breathtakingly beautiful. I come back to it often for that reason alone.

Knowing this film is illegal to screen and still getting to experience it on a big screen stayed with me. It pushed me to take a breath and continue creating, even when fear feels paralyzing.

Always a reminder to glitch.