LAV DIAZ on BATANG WEST SIDE as his first movie
"I'm not dismissing my other movies, the shorts I did for Mowelfund, the earlier features. They were vital steps in my growth as a filmmaker. But BATANG WEST SIDE is my first film becasue it is the culmination of my search for a personal aesthetic and a philosophy of cinema, the definitive LAV DIAZ film."
"I am not being selfish. Every artist who respects himself and his work, who recognizes his responsibility towards the society in which he lives, goes through this struggle. This is where I ripped up and threw away the theories, traditional structures, and strictures which were obstacles to my development and to the development of Filipino cinema. NO COMPROMISE!"