I was never a kid. I was very mature when I was young. I saw grown-ups as much cooler, so I liked to be friends with them more than with people my age.

For me, the 60s are when people were the most idealistic. The pop culture, the songs, the long hair and student movements all amazed me. There was a real break with tradition and sense of community.

I regret being born 10 years too late. I wanted to be born in the 50s and to grow up in the 60s. Instead, I grew up in the 70s but I was never into Saturday Night Fever or Grease.

My generation is really into Shaw Brothers Studio. The Guillotines is a throwback to that, to my childhood, to the nostalgic memories of people my age.

Nostalgia is a big thing for me. I don’t think that’s so special. Everyone is nostalgic. Woody Allen was very honest about his nostalgia. People are never really content with the present and always see the past as being better.

I’ve never liked the present, no matter what the present is. Even today, I like antiques and old cars. I like old sofas. I liked all this old stuff before people developed a fondness for it. Now it’s really hip.

My father was the biggest influence on me. He was a filmmaker who wasn’t a huge success, but I love him so much. He made me want to be a movie maker.

I ended up studying film in the US but I dropped out because I got a job in the film business which led me to other ones.

I’ve never been so creative. I started out as a production manager and a producer before I became a director. I learned the craft of filmmaking through many years as a producer. And then I slowly screwed back to becoming a director.

My happiest moment as a filmmaker is when I edit my film. Seeing the film take shape in the editing room, seeing the possibility of the film and putting it all together.

There are very different approaches to film. Some people know exactly what they want, but I’ve never been one of those. I love to shoot everything and put it together in the editing room.

I don’t think a filmmaker can really tell when they are successful because it’s a really tough business. People always look at the press, the awards, the red carpets and the box office, but we’re living in the trenches of the set every day.

Every movie is more difficult than the previous one. We are crucified by critics, the box office and investors every single day. There are only a few movie makers who are really immune from negative reactions to their films.

The Hong Kong movie industry is completely dead. It’s a classic case where we really needed to go international because we couldn’t survive on a population of 6 million alone.

The existence of Hong Kong movies came about due to Chinese people all over the world needing entertainment after the communist takeover [in the mainland] in 1949. But now the demographics have changed. [Overseas Chinese] don’t need to watch Chinese movies anymore.

The Hong Kong movie industry has found a new lease of life in [mainland] China, where the industry is really blooming. Lots of Hong Kong filmmakers are making movies in China but Hong Kong is still their identity.

For Thai films, don’t just think about going international, because it’s a very unstable market place. The Thai film industry is far better than Hong Kong’s because it has a huge local market. That’s it’s life support and backbone.

I’ve always wanted to make a movie in Thailand about my parents’ generation in the 50s. I didn’t live here long enough to have my own stories so I wanted to do theirs.

I never throw things away. I have lots of old books and still keep pieces of papers. I’m very sentimental. Sometimes I’m blown away when I find a piece of paper. Not long ago I found a jacket that had a movie ticket in there. I looked at the date. It was from my first date with my wife, 18 years ago.

I think those things are key to my creativity. It’s the kind of stuff that makes me want to make a movie.

I don’t need any hobbies because my work is already a hobby and that’s all I want. I just love to watch movies, make movies and read books that I could turn into movies.

It doesn’t matter how busy you are as a filmmaker, you still have time if you really want to make time. Now I have a daughter so I save time for my family as much as I can, to be a normal father.

The biggest quality of a movie maker is the ability to tell a story. It’s the key. No matter how stylish you are in technical aspects or camera work, you still need to tell a story that moves people.