It’s been 36 years since Kevin Costner started working on Horizon: An American Saga, a project that he’s been trying to make for decades. But instead of being discouraged because he couldn’t get funding, Costner decided to spend about $38 million of his own money to finance his passion project, an epic saga that spans four movies.

“I don’t fall out of love with what I think is something good,” Costner, speaking at the film’s press conference at Cannes, answered when a reporter asked him about the financial challenges he’s so far had to face while making Horizon.

“I believe that when these lights go out and we’re in a movie theater, something magical can happen. Part of why I wanted to make one, two, three and four was to make it for myself because I know what it’s like to sit out there in the audience and the curtain opens and something magical is going to happen, and a story is going to transport us. The movies have always been a place for us to go have a chance at magic. Something that we’ll never ever forget.”

The audience at Cannes must have felt that magic. The film reportedly earned a seven-minute standing ovation after its debut at the renowned film festival.

In an interview with Today.com, the Academy Award-winning director again highlighted the importance of never giving up. “I’m satisfied that I’m just doing what I feel like is important in the work that I’ve chosen to be a part of,” he said. “I’m satisfied that I have given it everything.”

Horizon: An American Saga explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the American Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself. The film boasts an all-star cast that includes Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Jamie Campbell Bower, Isabelle Fuhrmann, Giovanni Ribisi and Luke Wilson.

What is it about Westerns?

It’s no secret that Costner loves the Western genre. His directorial debut was the 1990 film Dances With Wolves, a choice that made him give up would-be box office and critical hit The Hunt for Red October, according to an interview he did with GQ magazine. But his gamble paid off, as Dances With Wolves would go on to gross more than $400 million at the global box office, and win for the first-time director the Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards.

Early in their work on Horizon, Costner’s writing partner Jon Baird asked Costner what drew him to the genre. “I had my own reasons for seeking these stories out, but as usual his reasons were clearer and better than mine,” Baird said. “He described how the Western set the cleanest possible stage for orchestrating and studying human dilemma, and for gauging a character’s worth. And he illustrated with this setup: You stand with your back to your home, as a second figure appears on the skyline and makes its way toward you.