That was the first film festival I went to.
It was so overwhelming, Ramsay told a masterclass for the Doha Film Institute this week .
I thought, Oh My God, youve really missed the point.
Lynne RamsayEamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
Its about a fractured family, who are together but not together, explained Ramsay.
With those first films, I was able to dig deep into the language I was finding.
It was a way of understanding the language of film.
There was a kind of naivete in the making of them which still moves me.
Ratcatcherwon Ramsay multiple prizes including a Bafta for best newcomer in 2000.
The setting has led to the film sometimes being described as belonging to the British tradition of social-realist films.
Ramsay said she did not agree with this classification.
I love those kinds ofSaturday Night And Sunday Morningfilms.
I never ever thought I am part of this thing.
I just thought, Im making a film, and this is where its taking me, she continued.
I never felt part of a movement although I love many of the filmmakers.
I felt it was misinterpreted a bit as a social-realist film.
It goes to different places.
Its a strange film.
After writing an original screenplay forRatcatcher, Ramsays subsequent three films have been adaptations.
The second film is the most difficult.
I want to challenge myself, she said.
Its a novel in the first person.
It was what was going on in this girls head and I made it with no voiceover whatsoever.
It was an interesting novel.
Its about a young woman who takes life into her own hands.
It was never a straight adaptation.
It was just my interpretation of this amazing wild character.
Ramsay next filmWe Need To Talk About Kevinwas adapted from Lionel Shrivers 2003 novel of the same name.
The director said she had been attracted to the work because of its seemingly unfilmable structure.
There was something interesting for me in the core.
It was written in the form of letters to the husband.
It was pretty literary and looked like there was no way to make it.
I had to boil it down and find what is really the essence of it.
The filmmaker said showing Shriver the film for the first time was a nerve-wracking experience.
The producers wife was late and Lionel is pretty hardcore.
We Need To Talk About Kevinmarked Ramsays first experience shooting in the U.S. and working with unions and guilds.
You cant talk to the extras if youre the director.
Theres a union for extras, she said.
Everyone wants to be in-camera.
I love the New York crews.
Theres a real vibe and when the crew enjoys the process, you enjoy the process, she said.
That movie was a brilliant movie to make even though it was such a dark movie.
It was a release.
Weirdly, the darkest film Ive made was the easiest to make.
You always want to make something that is breaking new ground, she said.
I feel these are all things I am super interested in and theyve taken years to develop.
Asked if she could ever envisage making a drama series, Ramsay said it was unlikely.
Ive been asked to do things but I do love cinema.
There is some great stuff out there.
Maybe if it came from me.
If I devised it… my first love is cinema and bringing people into a world.
