Never Let Me Go Director Mark Romanek: 'I Have An Affinity for English Things'

Director Mark Romanek today rejected implications that his American roots could have undermined the authenticity of his new film Never Let Me Go, which debuted at the London Film Festival on October 13.

Set in England and based on the acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the film follows the lives of three school friends across several decades as they come to terms with their unusual upbringing and their certain fate.

Asked whether he felt his American descent detracted from the film's 'Englishness', Romanek announced that he has a deep affection for Britain.

Speaking at a press conference in London's Leicester Square, Romanek told reporters,

"I had an enormous amount of help. I feel this was a very collaborative process. I wasn't brought in to behave like the auteur of the piece, whatever that means, and that speaks also to the quality of the authenticity or 'Englishness'.

"I feel I have an affinity for English things and I've spent a lot of time here. I went to school here briefly and I've lived here on and off. I live here now, actually.

"But I thought a lot about Ang Lee's The Ice Storm, which depicted my childhood and adolescence in the suburbs of Chicago. I thought that was unbelievably authentic and he's Taiwanese. So I guess sometimes someone from the outside has that perspective on things, but I was helped enormously by the all British crew whenever I was slipping up."