17 Facts About Jehane Noujaim

1.

Jehane Noujaim was born on May 17,1974 and is an Academy Award nominated American documentary film director best known for her films Control Room, Startup.

2.

Jehane Noujaim was raised in Kuwait and Cairo and moved to Boston by the age of 10, in 1984.

3.

In 1992, Jehane Noujaim matriculated to Harvard University, where she initially intended to study medicine.

4.

Also during the duration of her degree, Jehane Noujaim notably worked under mentor Robb Moss.

5.

In 2002, before her graduation, Jehane Noujaim was awarded the Gardiner fellowship under which she directed Mokattam, an Arabic film about a garbage-collecting village near Cairo in Egypt.

6.

Jehane Noujaim joined the MTV news and documentary division as a segment producer for the documentary series UNfiltered.

7.

Jehane Noujaim was awarded the Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award in 2004.

8.

Jehane Noujaim has since worked in both the Middle East and the United States as a cinematographer on various documentaries including Born Rich, Only the Strong Survive, and Down from the Mountain.

9.

Jehane Noujaim achieves this through live footage from her time in Qatar of the war as well as interviews from news room correspondents.

10.

In 2006, Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize for her work in Control Room.

11.

Jehane Noujaim received a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay, sharing the nomination with co-writer Julia Bacha.

12.

Also during the duration of filming, Jehane Noujaim was arrested on three occasions.

13.

The arrests came as a result of accusations Jehane Noujaim was a spy, traitor, and for her general participation in protests while in Egypt.

14.

Jehane Noujaim claimed this decision was made in strides towards freedom of speech as a filmmaker.

15.

Jehane Noujaim won the DGA Award for The Square in 2014.

16.

Jehane Noujaim contributed to a book in 2016 which included a collection of statements by individuals on their experiences travelling to or visiting global squares.

17.

Jehane Noujaim previously took a NXIVM course after being recruited by Sara Bronfman.