What first interested you in a career in film?
I grew up in Adelaide and loved movies from an early age but never imagined I would end up working in the business - for about 30 years so far. Mysterious Island at the Thebarton Town Hall's Saturday flicks was a highlight. So was Jason and the Argonauts. A little later, I was blown away by the mood and mystery of Picnic at Hanging Rock in the 1970s. I couldn't believe some Australians could actually make something so good.

What if any film-related training/education have you done?
I did a film component as part of my degree in Adelaide in the 1970s. It was useless. They accidentally screened the randomly spliced out-takes of our final 16mm effort and we got a pass mark. I was saddened to see things haven't changed much when I was invited to talk to uni students here recently. There is still so much emphasis on academia - which really does have its place - but most kids want to learn how to actually "make" a film. Not write 4000 words on "pre-existential Croatian cinema as influenced by the Brechtian Workers Movement of 1930".
One of my final papers was on Picnic at Hanging Rock. Little did I know then that I would later work on two films by its director, Peter Weir (in my view one of the greatest directors in the world).

What was your first screen-related gig?
I was working as a union advocate in Adelaide, appearing before various tribunals on behalf of the decent working folk of South Australia. I did the OE in 1976 and ended up in Cannes the year My Brilliant Career was in competition there. As a result, there were heaps of Aussies who worked in the business hanging around. I met some, had beers in the bars with them, got a strong nudge from my dad and eventually got offered a unit manager's job on a film called Touch and Go. There were about 30 crew and the title "unit manager" back then meant parking officer, lavatory boy and location manager.

So how did you get from there to here?
It was a fortunate time in Australia. Breaker Morant, The Cars that Ate Paris and Mad Max had come out and there was money around for film. Then [tax clause] 10 BA came in and there was even more money around for film. Lots were made and those who worked in the business and were any good got bumped up the ladder with each new project.
I went from unit manager to location manager to production manager to associate producer to line producer to producer in a fairly short space of time. I enjoyed production work and wanted to get as good as I could be in that area. The price one paid was that not a lot of these films were great. They were more about the deal than the movie. Also, I found I could handle the "creatives", although sometimes the egotists and tantrum throwers are hard to take. Thankfully, there's less of those these days, at least in NZ. I've now worked on over 30 movies or major television projects and feel comfortable with running a production.

What do you most enjoy about producing?
Finding a project you can "see" on screen and working out whether it can really, actually get made. Working out the nuts and bolts of how to make it. Putting together a team you enjoy having breakfast with for months on end. Gelling with a good team of creative people. I have great respect for the crew members who are often called "technical". The best of them really take a creative view to their work, and here I'm talking about the Whale Rider and Perfect Creature team in particular. I love it in a production meeting when the key grip comes up with an intellectual response to a problem or offers something spectacularly creative. And that happens often with the right people.

What do you least enjoy about producing?
Glory-seekers, backstabbers, all night shoots and everyone wanting a producer credit for the smallest contribution.

What are the key attributes of a good producer?
Understanding the mechanics of production. I've met plenty of producers who don't really know how to "make" a film. They hire people for that but I think it's imperative to understand your medium. It's the only way you can add to the creative process or problem solve effectively.
Calm demeanour (when everything else falls apart, the producer is the one who has the buck stop at his desk).

You have a reputation for being an unusually monogamous producer in terms of the number of projects and creative partners you've prepared to juggle simultaneously…
Once I was head of production at South Pacific Pictures and there were about 60 projects in development (I'm sure it's changed now), which meant they all crept forward at half an inch a year. It taught me that, particularly as a solo producer, there is no point having endless ventures that all require your attention - you will not do any of them justice. I feel 3-4 projects at any one time is enough because to get them up, you have to work on them day and night. It can be tough because, occasionally, something terrific will turn up and you'd love to do it but you can't because it would not be fair to the other projects you've spent time on and that you want to advance.

• Perfect Creature opens nationwide on 18 October. For an interview with Sanders about the making of the movie, see the October print issue of Onfilm magazine.