"I don't want the European Union to act before the African Union. That would be a shame on the whole continent. The institution would be an empty box."

"Yes, but nobody ever offered me anything! Right now would be the most appropriate time. In addition to Cannes, I’ve been invited to the Zanzibar Film Festival, which is being held in July. I believe that cinema is sending me a discreet invitation!"

"A very hardworking and studious one: I’m on my sixth film! For me being part of this jury is a gift fallen from heaven. When I was offered the opportunity to be one of the eight jury members of this 71st edition, I first thought it was a joke. I immediately accepted of course. Even today I still don’t understand why I was chosen! It’s a great honour and a great sign of respect since the Palme d’or is an important award in the life of a film and a director. I’m taking my role very seriously."

"I’ll defend emotions. It’s very important point common to all the members of this jury. I was asked not to judge the films on their technical merits but rather on two aspects that are very comprehensible to me: emotion and feelings. Of course, the technical criteria will then have to be used to decide between those works that touched us the most. This will be the time when the cinema professionals on the jury will have to express themselves."

"It's too late for talking"

"When you suffer so much, when you watch your brothers killing your other brothers -- Because I am Christian. When you see a mom dying and you are not able to save her, then you think, “And I am Christian!” I said, “God created us, gave us, with our baptism, with our communion, strength with that."

"I said, “Tomorrow, another war will begin, because the people are not together. I’ll build a cinema, and then they can talk together; they can watch movies together."

"There were rumblings of trouble for months and years of tension between Hutus and Tutsis that made little sense to me. But on a terrible day in October 1993, after the presidents of Burundi and Rwanda died in a plane crash and chaos erupted, I was with my seven children, and in an atmosphere of fear and killing and panic I sought safety. Many people were fleeing the killers and the army. I took refuge in the Archbishop of Ruyigi's quarters. However, the rebels got into the compound, and I hid the children in cupboards in the sanctuary of the church. The hordes of invaders killed over 70 people there. They demanded that I tell them where my children were, but when I refused they hesitated, not willing to kill me because they saw me as a Tutsi. They tied me to a chair and stripped me naked. My best friend was beheaded and they threw her head on my lap.."

"Everyone said, “She is crazy.” I found enough energy and love to share and to ignore or work to change the too many stupid things in the way to what was needed and what was right. But I want to stress that in all these years it was not just Maggie who built. I have friends, like Aline and Catherine, who also became crazy and who have worked with me."

"When I began to teach children, I saw surrounding me that even those children who have parents need to go to school. If I begin to help only orphans go to school, then tomorrow it’s another social conflict. Then I changed; I said, “No, it’s not the correct way."

"I said, “That’s how to give opportunities to dream to those people who suffered so much from the war.” And I put in a swimming pool."

"I'm not the only one who has experienced this, it's a pattern."

"And people think to be a princess or prince, that it's about money. But nobody talks about duty, education, or leading by example. Things like that."

"Because you are Black, you are blue, you are crocodile, it doesn't matter — we need people to give a hand to help others."

"My wish today is for the royal houses around the world to join my foundation, and help me to help others."

"Everything that happens in our life is because you meet someone who gives you the road. Because we need each other. You give me hands, tomorrow I give those hands to someone else."