"Her work is timeless because it's political but it's about human beings, the relationships between us" explains director Sabine Lidl, about the subject of her new documentary, iconic photographer Nan Goldin. In "Nan Goldin - I Remember Your Face" Lidl paints a portrait of the artist through her interactions with friends and collaborators, all of which reveal a warmth that might come off as revelatory when you think of the nature of Goldin's work. Her controversial work in the 1990s, now serves as a heartbreaking archive of a generation lost to AIDS, which could lead us into thinking that the Nan we would meet is going to be disillusioned and jaded. Instead Lidl reveals a woman who can never stop creating and trying to capture the beauty beneath the despair.

We talked to Lidl who came to New York City to show her film at the Kino Festival of German Films.

Why make a film about Nan Goldin?

To have a character like Nan for a portrait is a great gift. To have someone with such humanity and such a history...she’s very controversial, very important. Why make a film about her? Because it’s the best thing that could happen to you.

Did you approach her directly and asked if you could make a film about her?

No (laughs) I’m too shy for that. I started making documentaries very late, at age 36, I didn’t think I’d be good enough to make a film about Nan. A very good friend of mine was her assistant so I knew her, but she’s always surrounded by a lot of people so it’s not easy to get to her. There was another director interested in making a film about her, who proposed a ten day shoot, but Nan wanted something different, so I approached the producer and said I could do it myself with one camera and no extra crew because Nan can be quite insecure about being on camera, she prefers to be behind it. Her idea was to make a documentary without her, just with her friends, which made us realize they would be essential but I said “Nan, we have to have you in the film”. So we met, we agreed on shooting one day just to try and see if it would work out. So we went and I fell in love with her. I could follow her forever. I don’t even need to talk to her to get something interesting on camera, the way she sees things is so Nan.

So you’re both shy, did you bond over this?

Yes, she can feel insecure so I think she felt she could trust me. I gave her a lot of space and I wanted her to feel well.

Was there a disconnect between the Nan we see in the film and how she would behave when you weren’t shooting?

Nan is professional enough that she realized how she could be on camera. She’s very smart, she knows how to say things, she’s a perfect character, I used to call her “my rock star”. Sometimes she had a careless side whether the camera was there or not. She played with both sides.

How much did you leave out of the film in the editing room?

I had a great editor. We studied Nan, we had little cards with what was important, what to show etc. but obviously we couldn’t show everything. Our one rule was that everything we put in the film showed us new things about Nan. We wanted to play with things, make them deeper, show her humorous side. We had over seventy hours of material, which can be the problem with digital, you never know when to stop shooting...

Did the film’s impressionistic structure come from the editing process?

No, we always knew we weren’t making a biographical documentary. It’s hard to say things over and over and we knew Nan didn’t want to talk about the same things. We wanted to open this little window into her life, of course it can be difficult for people who don’t know anything about her to “get” the film, but I hope it makes people want to go and research her work. There were some things I asked her to do specifically, like talk about her friends, which was very hard for her to talk about.

You have said that Nan sees the world through the eyes of a child, but we don’t really think about children when we think of her…

Children were always in her work, but they were not that prominent. It’s interesting that she’s working more with children now. Watching her work with kids in the opening scene of the film for example, she didn’t speak their language but she didn’t need to, she communicated with them beautifully.

Did making this film help you see her work in a different way?

Yeah, you have a chance to see how she sees things. She’s an artist in every way, her knowledge isn’t in her life by coincidence. She’s a collector of knowledge.

When we first meet Clemens Schick in the film, you tease us with a sad romance tone that reminded me of Fassbinder’s films. Was this your intention?

Oh wow. I think that’s amazing on her part, I love this scene where she explains “I’m a gay man in the body of a woman”. I understood her. Sometimes I feel that way too. She fell in love with a lot of people, and a lot of people fell in love with her. That’s what her life has been about, falling in love and the loneliness you feel with her makes you fall for her. Even I fell in love with her.

Nan is such a New York character, how do you feel about bringing your film to this city?

I was so nervous, I hoped people wouldn't be disappointed cause Nan is different in Europe than she is in New York, but being here is such a gift. I feel that to establish a connection between New York and Berlin is always good.

What are you working on next?

Oh god, how do you follow Nan Goldin? I might need to ask Keith Richards! (Laughs)