Roger Ross Williams Quotes

Quotes about:

• Zwarte Piet, or 'Black Pete,' is a relic from slavery. It is something that should have long been eliminated, and it's very insulting to black Dutch people. It's shocking to me that it still exists, but I think it's about the lack of knowledge and education regarding the roots of the character in the slave trade.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Character, Thinking, Should Have

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  8 Copy quote

• Someone sent an email to Reverend Joanna Watson [an American missionary] saying that I'm gay, and she sent it to all the anti-gay pastors in Uganda. One of them said, "We're going to take care of this guy." When I was confronted by them I didn't know what they were going to do, but they decided to pray over me. They said they were going to cure me. That didn't work, of course.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Gay, Uganda, Guy

  Source: www.motherjones.com

  8 Copy quote

• I'm not an activist at all. I'm a filmmaker, and I wanted the people involved to tell their own story.

  Roger Ross Williams

  People, Stories, Filmmaker

  Source: www.motherjones.com

  4 Copy quote

• That is what I was more drawn to - creating stories while changing and altering reality.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Reality, Creating, Stories

  Source: www.rogerebert.com

  4 Copy quote

• I mentioned before, these [classic Disney films] are classic mythological tales, a hero's journey, and have been told for thousands of years. Disney has updated them, and made them accessible for us.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Hero, Journey, Years

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• There is much institutionalized racism in The Netherlands and the non-White population is just now beginning to fight for their rights.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Fighting, Rights, White

  Source: www.theskanner.com

  4 Copy quote

• While growing up, I lived in my own fantasy world. I had kind of a rough childhood, so I created my own reality.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Growing Up, Reality, Childhood

  Source: www.rogerebert.com

  4 Copy quote

• It is our stories [classic Disney films] that make us human - so Owen [Suskind] has become an expert in what connects us and makes us human. That got to me, the power of these stories, and the lessons these tales give us to create the connection between us.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Giving, Connections, Experts

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  6 Copy quote

• The challenge and the goal was to get inside Owen's [Suskind] world, because I really wanted to see it through his point of view. To achieve that naturalism, I used a screen in front of a camera as I interviewed him

  Roger Ross Williams

  Views, Goal, Challenges

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• Owen [Suskind], in a sense, grew up on a diet of myth and fable, and has become an expert on their themes, which contain a moral guide that connects people.

  Roger Ross Williams

  People, Experts, Fables

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• I realized that Owen [Suskind] is completely brilliant, because he embraced and memorized all these classic Disney films - these fables that chronicle the hero's journey, and have existed for thousands of years. Owen, in a sense, grew up on a diet of myth and fable, and has become an expert on their themes, which contain a moral guide that connects people.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Hero, Journey, Years

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• I had full access to the material, and had a great relationship with Sean Bailey, the president of Disney productions. He really guided me through the licensing process of the footage. I made presentations to the various departments at the studio, and they were moved by Owen's [Suskind] story.

  Roger Ross Williams

  President, Stories, Great Relationship

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• The product Disney created actually changed a life, and that was significant to them. They didn't stand in my way at all.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Way, Significant, Changed

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• Symbolic racism is hurtful and it is especially hurtful to Black children who get called Black Pete in school and grow up with the sense that they are inferior to white kids.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Children, Growing Up, Kids

  Source: www.theskanner.com

  4 Copy quote

• Toward the end of the film ['Life, Animated'] we see 'The Sidekicks Story,' and that is a story that Owen drew himself. We took that style, which is decidedly different from Disney animation, and used it as a basis. It's a 'two-dimensional' hand drawn animated form, so I went to this company in Paris called 'Mac Guff,' and they assembled an amazing group of young animators, and brought it to life.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Hands, Disney Animation, Two

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• Obviously it was an out of body experience to win an Academy Award.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Winning, Awards, Body

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast in her society because she was disabled, to someone who picked herself from that despair and elevated herself within that community, and now that society accepting her as much as they formerly rejected her. People identified with that journey, overcoming an obstacle, but still triumphing.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Journey, Thinking, People

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• I think many Dutch just don't know the history of Black Pete, that he is rooted in slavery, and how he was used to dehumanize a race of people. Once they realize this, many stop using this character, but those who continue are either in denial, insensitive or actually racists.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Character, Thinking, Race

  Source: www.theskanner.com

  4 Copy quote

• I wasn't that much of a Disney buff growing up, but I love the mystical and magical nature of Peter Pan, and I have connected with that character through Owen [Suskind] in making this film ["Life, Animated"].

  Roger Ross Williams

  Growing Up, Character, Film

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• When I first saw a White Dutch person dressed up as Black Pete, I was both sickened and shocked. It's hard to stand next to someone who views your skin color and hair as a costume. As a filmmaker, whenever I get that feeling, I want to explore what motivates people to engage in such offensive behavior and enlighten folks about its origins.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Color, White, Hair

  Source: www.theskanner.com

  4 Copy quote

• Racism was never acceptable to the people who suffer from it.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Racism, People, Suffering

  Source: www.theskanner.com

  4 Copy quote

• It's a horrible feeling to be mocked and ridiculed because of your race.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Race, Feelings, Horrible

  Source: www.theskanner.com

  4 Copy quote

• I both didn't know Owen [Suskind] beforehand and didn't have any connection to the autistic community. But Owen wasn't really a problem, because he participated in the writing of the book and wanted people to see him as he truly is. As far as the cameras, Owen lives in the moment and the cameras really didn't distract him.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Book, Writing, People

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• I've known Owen's father Ron [Suskind] for years, and this was based on his best-selling book ["Life, Animated"]. We worked together as journalists at ABC-TV News, and I knew about the book since its inception. Before he finished it, he approached me and said he thought it would make a great documentary, and I agree with him, and moved forward from there.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Father, Book, Tv News

  Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

  4 Copy quote

• Why so much interest in Uganda? Why are American conservatives lobbing for hate? The answer is that they feel they have lost the culture war here at home and are exporting their outdated ideas to the developing world.

  Roger Ross Williams

  Hate, War, Home

  Source: www.motherjones.com

  6 Copy quote

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