Where were you when you heard about Jyoti’s story?

I was in Delhi when I heard about Jyoti. I remember waking up in the morning and the news being filled with it and being totally horrified. One feels violated, angry and furious that the system had let the bus go through six police posts without stopping it. It went round and round Delhi.

How did that outrage turn into the decision to make a film on this topic?

Gang rape happens everywhere in the world; it happens in India and it happens here in Iceland. The thing about gang rape and rape is that it knows no boundary, no colour, no class, no caste, no country. It’s got something to do with our society and culture as humans. That made me really upset.

I did not decide to do a film on it. It took about two years until somebody approached me and said, 'How would you feel about doing a film on what happened?' and I said: 'Absolutely not... I'm not interested in doing a film that re-victimises the the victim.' But I had been very interested in trying to understand – or perhaps get a glimpse of – the word of the rapists; who were these men, where did they come from, what happens in a society that lets men like these be nurtured? I think that’s a much bigger question than pointing fingers.