Really, it is. Here you go.

Q: What is your idea of perfect happiness?

A: Being able to do the things one likes without the stresses of making ends meet.

Q: What is your greatest fear?

A: Not being able to make films ever again.

Q: Which living person do you most admire?

A: Ang Lee.

Q: What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

A: My control freak-ness. But at the same time, it is probably what has gotten me so far.

Q: What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

A: Tact. People use it as an excuse to not say what they really think.

Q: What do you dislike most about your appearance?

A: I have fat genes, so I put on weight fairly easily.

Q: What or who is the greatest love of your life?

A: Cinema and my wife, Rachel. They take turns to be in first place.

Q: When and where were you happiest?

A: Living in Jurong while I was in Primary School. Life was less complicated and just filled with lots of fun.

Q: Which talent would you most like to have?

A: I wish I can play music, some form of musical instrument.

Q: What is your current state of mind?

A: I’m anxious about the long and short future. What the future holds: Where do I go from here? In terms of a career? Next film? And also about whether the film will do well in Singapore.

Q: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

A: I wish I was less messy. My wife would easily agree.

Q: If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?

A: I would make my parents less naggy.

Q: What do you consider your greatest achievement?

A: This is an easy one. The Camera d’Or in Cannes.

Q: If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?

A: A dolphin.

Q: What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

A: Getting myself into a debt of S$27,000 after making a short (film). Seeing only S$1.25 left in my bank account. It was Chinese New Year’s Eve. I was crying so badly that night.

Q: What is the quality you most like in a man?

A: Their straightforwardness. No beating around the bush.

Q: What is the quality you most like in a woman?

A: Their sensitivity.

Q: What do you most value in your friends?

A: Their loyalty.

Q: Who are your favourite writers?

A: Anton Chekov, Franz Kafka, William Faulkner, Kazuo Ishiguro.

Q: Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

A: No one in particular.

Q: Who are your heroes in real life?

A: Ang Lee, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Lee Chang Dong

Q: What is it that you most dislike?

A: Dishonesty.

Q: How would you like to die?

A: In my sleep. Hopefully somewhere in the countryside.

Q: What is your motto?

A: Always preserve integrity in one’s work.

Ilo Ilo opens in cinemas on Aug 29.