"I had been thinking of this book of essays since I saw the Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro last year, and dipped back into it recently—I hadn’t read it since high school. Back then, it hit me hard. I realized there was a counter-narrative to all the history I had been taught, and I learned that lesson through Baldwin’s beautiful anger."

"It was like watching a documentary but it wasn’t. There’s a scene with Lar Lubovitch, who I ended up working with as a professional, where he’s choreographing a piece on Neve Campbell. It seemed they just let the cameras roll; it was so real. It was like being in the studio and watching them rehearse. It was a window into the life of a dancer."

"Another film that feels like a documentary. Garrone has managed to take all the sentimental glamour out of the Mafia—which sneaks into a lot of films on the subject—and shows it to be the frightening, feeling-less business that it must be. Paradoxically, the lack of emotion is what gives the film its power, and what ultimately makes it so moving and memorable."

"This was the first film we saw that felt like it spanned a lifetime, and I mean that in the best way. It blurs the lines of documentary with total access and beauty. The experience of living these two kids’ lives with them is something that can’t be shaken. The memories are implanted in your brain, and you’ll be happy you can’t forget them."