self-sufficiency

His films obsessively explore individuals struggling against nature and isolation, from *Aguirre* to *Grizzly Man*, examining humanity's self-reliant defiance of overwhelming forces.

His socially conscious films like *I, Daniel Blake* and *Kes* reveal how systems strip away self-sufficiency, forcing protagonists to fight for dignity and autonomy.

In films like *Vagabond* and *The Gleaners and I*, she celebrates marginal figures who survive through resourcefulness, imagination, and independence from conventional society.