Jehane Noujaim
Encyclopedia
Jehane Noujaim is an Egyptian American
documentary
film director
best known for her films Control Room, Startup.com
and Pangea Day
.
She moved to Boston
in 1990, where she attended Milton Academy
, matriculated to Harvard University
in 1992 and graduated magna cum laude in Visual Arts
and Philosophy
. The same year, before her graduation, Noujaim was awarded the Gardiner fellowship under which she directed Mokattam
, an Arabic film about a garbage collecting village near Cairo in Egypt. She joined the MTV
News
and Documentary
division as a segment producer for the documentary series, UNfiltered
. Noujaim left her job at MTV to produce and direct Startup.com
in association with Pennebaker Hegedus Films
. The feature length, highly acclaimed documentary has won numerous distinguished awards including the DGA
and IDA
Awards for best documentary. She has since worked in both the Middle East
and the US as a [cinematographer] on various documentaries including Born Rich
(Jamie Johnson), Only the Strong Survive (Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker), and Down from the Mountain
(D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Nick Doob). In 2004, she directed the feature length, highly acclaimed film Control Room, a documentary about US Central Command and its relations with Al Jazeera
and other news organizations that covered the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2007, she co-directed (with Sherief El Katsha) the film Shayfeen.com which was broadcast as part of the WhyDemocracy project. In 2008, she launched Pangea Day (www.pangeaday.org) in collaboration with the TED Conferences.
Jehane used her wish to organize Pangea Day
, a live videoconference that took place in New York City, Rio de Janeiro, London, Dharamsala, Cairo, Jerusalem, and Kigali on May 10, 2008. The show was internationally broadcasted over 4-hours through internet, television and mobile phones. It featured films, speakers, and music.
Egyptian American
Egyptian Americans are Americans of Egyptian ancestry, first-generation Egyptian immigrants, or descendants of Egyptians who immigrated to the United States. In the 2007 U.S. census, the number of people with Egyptian ancestry was estimated at 195,000, although some estimates range from several...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
best known for her films Control Room, Startup.com
Startup.com
Startup.com is a 2001 documentary film that chronicles the dot-com start-up phenomenon and its eventual end. The film follows e-commerce website govWorks and its founders Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman from 1999-2000 as the Internet bubble was bursting.-Production:The film was made by...
and Pangea Day
Pangea Day
Pangea Day was an international multimedia event conducted on May 10, 2008. Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro were linked to produce a 4-hour program of films, music and speakers. The program was broadcast live across the globe from 1800 to 2200 UTC, culminating in a...
.
Career
Jehane Noujaim is a filmmaker, born in Washington DC and raised in Kuwait and Cairo.She moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1990, where she attended Milton Academy
Milton Academy
Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...
, matriculated to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1992 and graduated magna cum laude in Visual Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. The same year, before her graduation, Noujaim was awarded the Gardiner fellowship under which she directed Mokattam
Mokattam
Mokattam and the Moqattam Hills, , also Muqattam and Moqattam Mountain, is the name of a hill range and a suburb in them, located in southeastern Cairo, Egypt.-Landform:...
, an Arabic film about a garbage collecting village near Cairo in Egypt. She joined the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
News
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
and Documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
division as a segment producer for the documentary series, UNfiltered
UNfiltered
UNfiltered was an MTV television show created by Steven Rosenbaum in 1993 that let viewers submit their own stories and film themselves. Al Gore was apparently a fan of its Dogme 95-style approach, which can be seen through his help in founding the Current TV network, which operates on the same...
. Noujaim left her job at MTV to produce and direct Startup.com
Startup.com
Startup.com is a 2001 documentary film that chronicles the dot-com start-up phenomenon and its eventual end. The film follows e-commerce website govWorks and its founders Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman from 1999-2000 as the Internet bubble was bursting.-Production:The film was made by...
in association with Pennebaker Hegedus Films
D. A. Pennebaker
Donn Alan Pennebaker is an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of Direct Cinema/Cinéma vérité. Performing arts and politics are his primary subjects.-Biography:...
. The feature length, highly acclaimed documentary has won numerous distinguished awards including the DGA
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
and IDA
International Documentary Association
International Documentary Association , founded in 1982, is a non-profit organization promoting documentary film, video and new media, to support the efforts of documentary filmmaking and video production makers around the world and to increase public appreciation and demand for the art of the...
Awards for best documentary. She has since worked in both the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and the US as a [cinematographer] on various documentaries including Born Rich
Born Rich
Born Rich is a 2003 documentary about the experience of growing up as a child in one of the world's richest families. It was created by Jamie Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune....
(Jamie Johnson), Only the Strong Survive (Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker), and Down from the Mountain
Down from the Mountain
The soundtrack album, Down from the Mountain: Live Concert Performances by the Artists & Musicians of O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released to complement the documentary concert film...
(D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Nick Doob). In 2004, she directed the feature length, highly acclaimed film Control Room, a documentary about US Central Command and its relations with Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
and other news organizations that covered the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2007, she co-directed (with Sherief El Katsha) the film Shayfeen.com which was broadcast as part of the WhyDemocracy project. In 2008, she launched Pangea Day (www.pangeaday.org) in collaboration with the TED Conferences.
Pangea Day
After winning the TED PrizeTED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
Jehane used her wish to organize Pangea Day
Pangea Day
Pangea Day was an international multimedia event conducted on May 10, 2008. Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro were linked to produce a 4-hour program of films, music and speakers. The program was broadcast live across the globe from 1800 to 2200 UTC, culminating in a...
, a live videoconference that took place in New York City, Rio de Janeiro, London, Dharamsala, Cairo, Jerusalem, and Kigali on May 10, 2008. The show was internationally broadcasted over 4-hours through internet, television and mobile phones. It featured films, speakers, and music.